Landbank caps off ’22 with 4 agri-hubs

THE Land Bank of the Philippines Inc. (Landbank) announced last Thursday it wrapped-up 2022 with the opening of four new “agri-hubs” located in the provinces of Oriental Mindoro, Bukidnon, Misamis Occidental and Misamis Oriental, expanding its physical touchpoints to better serve farmers and fishers in the country.

The state-run bank said it established the agri-hubs in the last week of December. The lender said these hubs will provide combined services of banking, lending and agrarian services to the country’s top rice-producing provinces, including unbanked and underserved rice farming areas.

“Our continued expansion of Landbank agri-hubs across the country forms part of our commitment to deliver responsive and timely financial services to the agriculture sector, especially to small farmers and fishers,” Landbank President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo was quoted in a statement as saying. “We strive to make our banking products and services more accessible especially in underserved areas to help boost agricultural production and build stronger local communities.”

Landbank said that last December 26, opened its 13th agrihub in Plaridel, Misamis Occidental. This hub aims to primarily serve over 23,000 farmers and fishers within the municipality and its neighboring town of Lopez Jaena.

Landbank said it established another agri-hub in Claveria, Misamis Oriental, to cater to the banking requirements of more than 13,000 farmers and fishers in the municipality.

Meanwhile, the agri-hub in San Fernando, Bukidnon was inaugurated last December 29 to service the municipality’s 24 barangays, including 11,000 farmers and fishers.

On the same day, a Landbank agri-hub in Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro, was opened to provide accessible financial services mainly to the 12,233 farmers and fishers in Bongabong.

Landbank said its agri-hubs offer banking services such as account opening, withdrawals and check encashments; lending services such as the processing of loan applications; and agrarian services such as processing of Agrarian Reform bonds and handling of agrarian-related concerns from landowners, bondholders and agrarian reform beneficiaries.

The opening of Landbank’s new agri-hubs raises the total number of its agri-hubs in the country to 16.