Individual money lenders emerged as the primary providers of financial credit assistance to farmers and fisherfolk in 2023, the Philippine Statistics Authority said.
This was based on the results of the Census of Agricultural and Fisheries Availability of Agricultural, Aquaculture and Fisheries Machinery, Equipment and Services in Barangays.
It said individual money lenders were operating in 20,020 barangays, representing 47.6 percent of all 42,020 barangays in the country.
Microfinance institution followed as a distant second, which are present in 4,265 barangays, accounting for 10.1 percent.
About 2,959 barangays depend on self-help groups, while only 1,152 barangays have access to rural or commercial banks. Government banks are present only in 334 barangays, while 176 barangays have access to cooperative banks.
Meanwhile, local government units (LGU) emerged as the largest provider of in-kind credit assistance to farmers and fisherfolk, supporting 15,181 barangays (36.1 percent).
Farmers’/fishermen’s organization and cooperative/association followed with presence in 11,348 (27.0 percent) and 8,399 (20 percent) barangays respectively, indicating their significant role in rural credit assistance.
The PSA also revealed that among the 42,020 barangays in the country as of Dec. 31, 2022, thresher is the machinery observed to be the most available in the barangay. Threshers were present in 19,583 (46.6 percent) barangays or nearly half of all barangays covered in the 2022 Census of Agricultural and Fisheries (CAF).
The province of Ilocos Sur had the highest percentage (88.7 percent) of occurrence with 681 out of 768 barangays reporting the availability of threshers in 2023. Transplanter was the second most available machinery, being present in 17,813 barangays (42.4 percent), followed by rice mill, present in 12,376 barangays (29.5 percent).
Pasteurizer used in milk or juice processing was the least available machinery/equipment, found in only 511 barangays (1.2 percent).
