INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Following an onion crisis that saw both consumers and producers struggle, the Department of Agriculture (DA) launched a special loan program for farmers, said the agency on Friday.
During the final quarter of 2022, onion prices reached a whopping P700 per kilo. Farmers bore the brunt of financial losses, with some being driven to take their lives because of the crippling debt they were in.
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“The Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Credit Policy Council (DA-ACPC) has launched the Agri-Negosyo (ANYO) Loan Program for Onion Farmers to provide local producers easy access to credit loans for facilities, machinery, and other equipment,” said the DA in a statement.
The agency listed Rueda Onion Growers Association and the Genaro Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Multi-Purpose Cooperative as loan beneficiaries, receiving P3 million and P10 million in debt.
“The special ANYO loan program, which seeks to boost onion production in the country, benefits individual onion farmers tilling at most [two] hectares of land and registered farmers’ cooperatives associations as they can avail of zero-interest loans payable up to five years with a maximum amount of P300,000 and P15 million, respectively,” said the agency.
According to the DA, 2022 harvests fell short of 260,000 metric tons to meet the Philippines’ demand.
However, it can be recalled that the Ombudsman summoned DA officials over suspected collusion with the private sector over the purchase of P140 million worth of onions from a Nueva Ecija cooperative and its decision to import onions when the local harvest season was about to begin.