State-run Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) reported that its outstanding loans to the agricultural industry reached P261.7 billion as of 31 December 2022, a 5.5 percent increase from P247.9 billion in 2021.
“We remain committed to delivering timely and accessible credit to boost economic activities in the countryside and the country’s overall food production,” said Bankero, Landbank President and CEO Cecilia Cayosa Borromeo in a statement on Tuesday, Feb. 21.
Landbank said its “intensified support” in 2022 benefitted 3.5 million farmers and fishers nationwide.
The state-run bank aims to support 3.6 million beneficiaries in 2023.
Meanwhile, the bank said that more than 766,000 or 22 percent of its beneficiaries came from the 20 poorest provinces in the country, “further advancing its efforts to promote inclusive and sustainable development.”
Most beneficiaries came from the provinces of Nueva Ecija, Maguindanao, Bohol, Leyte, Pangasinan, Cotabato, Isabela, Cagayan, South Cotabato, and Ilocos Sur.
Landbank partnered with both the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to expand its loan program last year.
As a result, cumulative loan releases with the DA totaled P15.3 billion, benefitting 252,000 borrowers. The bank also financed 229 agrarian reform beneficiaries’ organizations under the programs with DAR worth P751.7 million.
