State-run Land Bank of the Philippines extended P233.6 billion in loans to the agriculture sector as of end-October this year, according to a report submitted to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III.
The amount is 93 percent of the bank’s P251.5-billion target in loans to the agriculture sector in 2021.
The bank has outstanding loans of P94.01 billion to support the improvement and construction of farm infrastructure and post-harvest facilities, which make up the bulk of the P233.6 billion.
LandBank also assisted 2,987,929 farmers and fishers as of October, representing an increase of 13,125″•of which 10,189 availed of regular loans from the bank”•from last month’s figure of 2,974,804.
The bank said the P5.39-billion net growth in loans as of October was attributed to the increase in loan releases of P4.41 billion to small, medium and large agribusiness enterprises from September.
It said that in terms of economic activity, loans supporting agri-related activities such as the improvement and establishment of public markets, farm-to-market roads, warehouses, cold storages, irrigation systems, fish port, and agri-tourism picked up with an increase of P5.79 billion as of end-October.