DA seeks budget boost to enable direct lending

THE Department of Agriculture ( DA) is seeking a P200 billion budget next year, four times its 2017 funding, much of which will enable the agency to directly provide farm and fishery loans.

“I am asking for a P200 billion budget next year,” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said during a Wednesday session with reporters at the agency’s headquarters in Quezon City.

“In our previous cabinet meeting, the president said that the DA will be getting the funds it needs to serve the Filipino farmers and fisherfolk,” he added.

The current DA budget is P50.6 billion.

A portion of the funds will be used on the agency’s rice program with the aim to expand by 1 million hectares the land area planted to rice. Half, however, will be poured into creating a bank that will allow the DA to directly grant loans.

“There is a need for government to establish a farmers and fisherman’s credit and lending aid where the ordinary farmer can just provide his validated ID and avail of a production loan,” the Agriculture chief said.

Mr. Piñol noted that his proposed credit facility will grant loans of up to P25,000 per hectare per farmer without collateral and at an interest rate of 4%.

The bank will help farmers obtain loans without having to meet stringent requirements of lenders like the state-run Land Bank of the Philippines.

“When I look at the credit program of government I found out ridiculous situations where money of the Department of Agriculture intended to help farmers in their production could not be availed by the farmers directly,” he added.

However, for the proposal to materialize, Mr. Piñol is seeking to pass a bill to amend certain laws that prohibit government agencies to directly providing financial loans to stakeholders.

He said that the congressional committee on trade policy and small medium enterprises has signaled its willingness to sponsor the bill, which is expected to be submitted by the DA in two weeks. —