Landbank loans to priority sectors reach new high

State-run Land Bank of the Philippines said yesterday its outstanding loans to small farmers, fishers, entrepreneurs and other priority sectors amounted to a record P434.4 billion in end-March, climbing 12 percent from P387.4 billion in the same period last year.

It also accounted for 90.5 percent of the bank’s total loans, Landbank said.

“Landbank remains focused on efforts toward fulfilling its mandate to serve small farmers and fishers and other marginalized sectors, especially in the countryside,” Landbank president and chief executive officer Alex Buenaventura said.

“We are also taking an active role in the implementation of the national government’s development agenda, particularly programs that promote financial inclusion, job generation and countryside development at large,” he said.

Among the bank’s identified priority sectors are small farmers and fishers (SFFs), micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and agri-aqua projects of local government units and government–owned and–controlled corporations.

It also includes support for national government projects in communications, transportation, housing, education, health care, environmentrelated projects, tourism, and utilities, and livelihood loans.

According to Landbank, total outstanding loans to the mandated sector – small farmers and fishermen – reached P34.6 billion as of end-March, higher than the year-ago level of P32.2 billion.

For the first three months alone, loans reached P8.7 billion, benefitting 102,322 small farmers and fishers nationwide.

These loans were channelled through 484 farmers’ and fishers’ cooperatives, 57 countryside financial institutions and 65 irrigators’ associations, Landbank said.

Meanwhile, the bank’s loans to agri-businesses, aqua-businesses, and agri-aqua related projects of LGUs also increased 11 percent to P111.5 billion from P100.9 billion a year ago.

But the bulk of Landbank’s loans to priority sectors as of the first quarter came as support to national government projects at P288.3 billion, up 13 percent from P254.3 billion a year ago.

“These include loans to MSMEs, which rose to P59.6 billion from P54.6 billion in the same period last year, of which P7.2 billion was lent to microenterprises while P52.4 billion supported small and medium enterprises,” the Landbank said.

This also comprised of loans to the utilities and housing sectors, which climbed to P71.2 billion and P40.5 billion, respectively, and loans to the transportation, healthcare, education and tourism sectors, all of which posted double digit growth during the period.

Landbank is the biggest credit provider to small farmers, fishers, and local government units, and the biggest lender to microenterprises and SMEs among government financial institutions.