The Land Bank of the Philippines said its loans to the agriculture sector is now at P257.7 billion as of the first half of the year.
The bank said the amount is equivalent to a 15.5 percent increase compared to the total outstanding loans from the same period a year ago for the sector at around P223 billion.
Of the P257.7 billion total outstanding loans, P37.5 billion benefited small farmers and fishers, including those which were channeled through cooperatives and farmers’ associations, rural financial institutions and other conduits.
A total of P163.1 billion supported small, medium and large agribusiness enterprises, while the remaining P57 billion aided agri-aqua related projects of local government units and government-owned and controlled corporations.
The loans were used to finance various economic activities, including P56.7 billion for livestock, crops and fisheries production and P122.2 billion for agri-processing and trading of rice, corn, and sugarcane, among others.
A total of P78.8 billion also backed the construction and improvement of essential agriculture infrastructure such as public markets, farm-to-market roads, warehouses, cold storages, irrigation systems and slaughterhouses.
In the first six months of the year, Land Bank said it also assisted in the construction and improvement of 138 kilometers of farm-to-market roads which is among the priorities of the current administration for the agriculture sector.
“Land Bank stands ready to extend accessible credit to all agri players to boost the country’s food production and supply. We will continue ramping up our lending activities in full support of the new administration’s agricultural modernization agenda,” said Cecilia Borromeo, the bank’s president and chief executive officer, in a statement.
The bank said it has cumulatively assisted more than 3.3 million farmers and fishers nationwide, of which 566,462 or 17 percent came from the 20 poorest provinces in the country.
The top provinces with the highest number of beneficiaries include Nueva Ecija, Maguindanao, Bohol, Pangasinan, Cotabato, Isabela, Cagayan, Leyte, Ilocos Sur and South Cotabato.
