Land Bank OKs P131 M in loans to over 3,000 Negros farmers

MANILA—More than 3,000 farmers in Negros Occidental have obtained approval for  P131 million in production loans in the first five months of 2013 under a credit program for agrarian reform beneficiaries, and at least P34 million of the total has already been released, the Department of Agrarian Reform said Tuesday.

The DAR announced in a news release that the 3,473 beneficiaries of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program or Carp  belonged to 34 farmers’ organizations in the province.

The agency cited a report by the Land Bank of the Philippines that it had approved a total of P131,021,700 in loan applications from the farmers under the Agrarian Production Credit Program (APCP).

Of that amount, some P34 million has been released as of June 7, the DAR said.

Jeffrey Maningo, head of Land Bank’s Negros Occidental Lending Center, said the balance would be released to the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries’ Organizations or ARBOs  upon submission of the required documents.

The largest amount so far went to the Negros Island Savings Coop (NISCO), which received P21.9 million. NISCO has another P72 million loan application pending with the Land Bank.

ARBOs that received more than P1 million in loans include Sta. Isabel ARB Farmers’ Organizations (P1.887 million), Hacienda Carmenchica ARB and FW Association (P1.807 million), Hacienda Bernardita ARB MPC (P1.504million), Hacienda Malaga Cuenca AR Coop (P1.438 million), CASA Agrarian Reform Cooperative (P1.284 million), and Association of San German ARB (P1.062 million).

Other groups received substantially smaller amounts.

With funding of at least P1 billion, the APCP, a joint program of the DAR, Land Bank, and the Department of Agriculture, is a new credit program for agrarian reform beneficiaries approved by President Aquino, the DAR announcement said.

The program is aimed at providing credit to newly organized as well as existing ARBOs and farmers’ organizations not qualified to avail themselves of loans under the regular “credit windows” of banks.