MANILA — Amid the devastating impact of El Niño on local harvests, Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) remains aggressive in extending financial support to rice farmers as total loans released through the Expanded Rice Credit Assistance under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ERCA-RCEF) reached P2.5 billion as of 30 April 2024.
In partnership with Department of Agriculture (DA), LANDBANK has been successful in fully disbursing the P500-million allocated annual fund under ERCA-RCEF from 2019 to 2023. The Bank continues to make loans available to rice farmers and their cooperatives at affordable interest rates with minimum documentary requirements.
“LANDBANK’s support to the agriculture sector is crucial to ensuring food security in the country. We are committed to providing continued financial assistance to our rice farmers to help them sustain their operations and improve productivity, especially in the face of challenges including the El Niño phenomenon,” said LANDBANK President and CEO Lynette V. Ortiz.
The P2.5-billion loans released by LANDBANK under ERCA-RCEF benefitted over 15,400 individual rice farmers and 270 cooperatives with more than 21,300 member-beneficiaries, which were channeled to support palay production, milling and trading, re-lending, and acquisition of farm machineries. Under the Program, 98% of LANDBANK’s direct borrowers are individual rice farmers.
Majority of the loan borrowers came from the rice producing provinces of Region 2, particularly Cagayan, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quirino, with LANDBANK assisting 4,945 borrowers for a total of P612.4 million in loans released. It was followed by Region 3 with 2,243 borrowers for total loan releases amounting to P840.3 million.
The state-run Bank also extended assistance to rice farmers in Visayas and Mindanao, including the provinces of Capiz, Leyte, Agusan del Sur, Bukidnon, North Cotabato, and Zamboanga del Sur.
LANDBANK’s steadfast commitment to the agriculture sector supports the celebration of the Farmers’ and Fisherfolk’s Month this May, which aims to recognize the invaluable contributions of farmers and fishers in nation-building and in achieving food security in the country.
ABOUT LANDBANK
LANDBANK is the largest development financial institution in the country promoting financial inclusion, digital transformation and sustainable development to benefit Filipinos. The Bank is present in all 82 provinces in the county, committed to provide accessible and responsive financing to drive the agriculture sector’s productivity and competitiveness, while championing sustainable development in the countryside. (LANDBANK)
