(The Philippine Star) Updated January 20, 2012 12:00 AM Comments (0)
MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Agriculture (DA) and Land Bank
of the Philippines are forging an agreement to launch a P400-million
loan program for rice farmers in four pilot provinces.
Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala and LBP president and CEO Gilda
E. Pico are launching today the loan program as one of the credit
components of the Aquino administration's Food Staples Sufficiency
Program (FSSP).
The DA and LBP are contributing P200 million each to come up with the
initial P400 million loan program that will be initially implemented
this 2012 dry season in four major rice-producing provinces of Isabela,
Nueva Ecija, Iloilo and North Cotabato.
The loan program will initially serve farmers who are members of
irrigators' associations (IAs) of good standing.
A farmer can borrow a maximum of P42,000 per hectare per cropping, if
they will plant hybrid rice, and P37,000 per hectare if they will
produce inbred rice.
The initial P400 million will serve approximately 2,000 farmers per
province, for a total of 8,000 farmers.
To qualify, IA members must at least own one hectare or up to five
hectares of irrigated land which will be used as a "table collateral"
for their loan.
A "table collateral" means that the bank merely holds on to the
collateral, but does not register the collateral yet.
Other loan requirements include a farm plan and budget, purchase order
from the National Food Authority or National Agribusiness Corporation,
and a promissory note for the amount borrowed.
Applicants must have no existing palay production loan.
Borrowers will be charged 15 percent interest per annum, inclusive of
crop insurance, payable within six months.
Declining interest will be applied to borrowers who establish good
credit standing.
For the first two cropping cycles, the interest rate will be pegged at
15 percent which will be reduced by one percent every succeeding cycle,
starting from the third cycle up to the sixth cropping cycle.
--
---------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
Email: carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline Phones: +63495010127 and +63495762924
Cellphone: +639152919580
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
CONSULTING - http://www.carlosani.com
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Family website: http://www.anifamily.net
------------------------------------------
