By Easter Anne Doza
BACOLOD City – Negrense farmers, fisherfolk and farmers/fisherfolk cooperatives now have the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) agricultural credit programs to help ease the burden of farm production costs.
LBP offers the Socialized Credit Program under the Sugarcane Industry Development Act (SCP-SIDA) and the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF) Lending Program for small scale farmers and cooperatives engaged in sugarcane farming and palay or cacao respectively, both with 2 percent interest per annum and which borrowers can get as much as 90 percent of the total project cost.
Department Manager and Head of the LBP Negros Occidental Lending Center Maria Luisita Chiu, in a radio guesting on the PNPTI Report to the People program via Radyo Bandera, urged farmers to avail of these opportunities that LBP is offering them.
To date, records showed that for SCP-SIDA, LBP Negros Occidental has disbursed a total of P109.8 million worth of loan to 1,399 borrowers.
Assistance to farmers and fisherfolk under ACEF reached P33.6 million for 169 borrowers in Negros Occidental as of May 31 this year.
Individual sugarcane farmers with an area of five hectares below or those with area of 10 hectares below, as long as they are not part of the collective farm or block farms, may avail of the SCP-SIDA.
Palay and cacao farmers with less than five hectares of land are eligible to avail of the ACEF including those with poultry of 1,000 to 5,000 layer-broilers; 10 sow level or 20 fatteners for hog raisers; 10 fatteners or five breeders for cattle and not more than 50 goats for goat growers, may avail of the credit program.
Chiu assured LBP’s assistance to the farmers and fisherfolk, noting that they just needed to fill in the forms provided along with other documentary requirements.
“Land Bank is open to help you apply and avail of these loans,” Chiu said.
For inquiries, LANDBANK Negros Occidental Lending Center maybe reached through their landline (034) 435-0144 to 0145 or visit them at the 2nd Floor LANDBANK Building, Cottage Road cor. Gatuslao Street in Bacolod City. (PIA)
