LandBank agri loans hit P233B as of October

Government-owned Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) had already provided P233.6 billion in loans to the agriculture sector as of October 31 this year, according to the Department of Finance (DoF). The DoF said in a statement issued over the weekend that LandBank reported to Finance Secretary Carlos 3rd that outstanding loans to the farm sector have already reached 93 percent of the P251.5 billion objective set for 2021.

The lender said of the total loans, P94.01 billion were made available to help renovate and build farm infrastructure and post-harvest facilities.

Small, medium, and large agribusinesses received nearly two-thirds of the funds (P150.16 billion), with the remaining P83.44 billion going to small farmers and fishermen (P32.92 billion) and agri-aqua related projects of local governments and government-owned and -controlled corporations (P50.52 billion).

As of the end of October, outstanding loans to agri-processing and trading activities accounted for P84.48 billion of total loans, with P34.95 billion going to livestock, P17.74 billion to crops, and P2.43 billion going to fisheries.

LandBank said it had already aided 2.988 million farmers and fishermen, an increase of 13,125 — of which 10,189 took out regular loans from the bank — from last month's total of 2,974,804.

Small farmers and fishermen borrowed P1.34 billion in direct financing and another P31.58 billion through intermediaries like as cooperatives and farmers' organisations, rural financial institutions, and other credit channels.

As of October this year, the bank said it had released 100 percent of the P11.04 billion in program funds for farmer-friendly loans it had been administering for the Department of Agriculture, including those under the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, Socialized Credit Program under the Sugarcane Industry Development Act, Expanded Rice Credit Assistance under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, Survival and Recovery Assistance for palay (unmilled rice) farmers, and the Survival and Recovery Assistance Covid-19 for farmers and fishers. It has also distributed the whole P65 million program funds for loans to agrarian reform beneficiaries under the Credit Assistance Program-Program Beneficiaries Development it has been administering for the Department of Agrarian Reform.

Source: TheManila Times