Landbank supports local agripreneurs

IN 1991, the country saw one of the most devastating volcanic eruptions in its history. The explosion of Mt. Pinatubo caused catastrophic damage to surrounding provinces and destroyed thousands of livelihoods — including the poultry farm of Dr. Roberto H. Lo who hails from Angeles City, Pampanga.

A veterinarian by profession, Dr. Lo decided to venture in livestock farming after graduating from the University of the Philippines in 1983. His inclination towards entrepreneurship is rooted from his equally entrepreneurial parents who own a department store in Cubao, Quezon City.

In 1986, he embarked on quail farming with 20,000 quails. Through his dedication and hard work, his business eventually expanded into a full-blown poultry raising business in Pampanga where he was able to grow his chickens to 400,000.

Then came one of the biggest challenges Lo had to face, when his business was wiped out by Mt. Pinatubo’s wrath.

“Our business was badly hit by lahar and production hit a slack. We closed the farms only until the damage became apparent,” Dr. Lo admits.

Twenty-six years after, he managed to build back his livelihood from the ground up.

With the help of Landbank, Dr. Lo has been able to open more businesses and now owns a Fresh Options Meatshop, Meats & Match restaurant, and Roberto’s Steakhouse.

“Our first (meat) store was very small, around 20 square meters only. But I took every possible effort to inform people that we have opened so we displayed 120 banners around Angeles, Pampanga,” shares Dr. Lo.

In recognition of his perseverance and determination, Lo was named as the regional winner of Gawad KAAGAPAY in 2016 — a distinction given by Landbank to successful bank-assisted large and medium-sized corporations that also contribute to the bank’s support for its priority sectors.

In February this year, he once again availed of a loan for the construction of new tunnel-vent poultry buildings, which forms part of his plan to expand the product line of his meat shop.

Moving forward, Dr. Lo is looking at opening more stores to serve markets in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon), La Union, Benguet, Isabela, and Tuguegarao — a vision that he hopes to realize with Landbank’s support.

The story of Dr. Lo attests to Landbank’s continuing commitment to support the country’s Microenterprises and Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

As of March 31, the Bank’s outstanding loans to the sector reached P59.6 billion. This is 9% higher from the same period last year and accounts for 12.4% of the Bank’s total loan to all sectors of P434.4 billion. Of the amount, P52.4 billion was lent to SMEs and P7.2 billion for microenterprises.