Landbank exceeds loans target

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The Land Bank of the Philippines has exceeded its P231.25-billion agricultural credit target in 2019 after extending a total of P236.31 billion in loans to the farm and fisheries sector as of end-December last year.

Likewise, the bank exceeded its target of assisting one million farmers in 2019 by 32,982 borrowers, representing a 103-percent accomplishment rate.

The Department of Finance said Landbank has been the only lender compliant with the provision of the Agri-Agra Law, which mandates all banks to set aside at least 15 percent of their total loanable funds for farmers and fisherfolk and another 10 percent for agrarian reform beneficiaries.

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The state-run bank’s agricultural loans of P236.31 billion is equivalent to 26.50 percent of its total gross loan portfolio of P891.77 billion for 2019.

Of total loans extended to the farm sector for the period, P1.25 billion-worth of credit were channeled directly to farmers while P43.57 billion are loans to cooperatives and farmers’ associations, rural financial institutions and other conduits.

A total of P137.88 billion in loans went to small, medium and large agribusiness enterprises, while P53.61 billion-worth of loans went to agri-aqua related projects of local government units and government-owned and -controlled corporations.

In terms of economic activity, Landbank extended in 2019 a total of P18.73 billion to the crops subsector while livestock accounted for P34.14 billion and the fisheries, P1.92 billion.

Agri-processing and trading got P75.08 billion and another P106.44 billion went to loans for projects supporting the agriculture sector such as the construction of farm-to-market roads, public markets, warehouses, irrigation systems, cold storages facilities and slaughterhouses.

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