Landbank lends P21 billion to farmer coops, associations

MANILA, Philippines — Government-owned Land Bank of the Philippines has released P21 billion in loans to farmer cooperatives and associations to help communities get back on their feet amid the pandemic.

Landbank said it extended some P20.86 billion in outstanding loans to 1,081 cooperatives and farmers’ associations as of end-August.

The amount is part of the P224.66 billion total outstanding loans to the agriculture sector.

The bank also assured cooperatives of readily available credit facilities with low interest rates to finance recovery projects and initiatives.

Among these are the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, Expanded Rice Credit Assistance under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement, and the Socialized Credit Program under the Sugarcane Industry Development Act.

The Landbank-managed ACEF aims to provide the necessary credit to farmers and  fishers and their cooperatives and associations, and micro and small-scale enterprises for the acquisition and establishment of production, post-harvest, and processing machineries, equipment and facilities, farm inputs and improvement.

The RCEF also allocated P1 billion in credit to boost farmers’ productivity.

Meanwhile, the SCP-SIDA is funded by 15 percent or about P300 million of the annual P2-billion fund allocated for the development of the country’s sugar industry.

Landbank president and CEO Cecilia Borromeo said the institution supports the government’s move to promote cooperatives and farmers’ associations – particularly those involved in the farming sector – as a means to achieve economies of scale and efficiency.

Apart from extending loans, Landbank will also provide financial literacy training to 220 micro and small coops from 92 unbanked municipalities to help improve the business operations and strengthen the capacity of cooperatives to access formal credit.