Philippines : 50,000 rice farmers seen to benefit from new DBP facility
The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) aims to support 50,000 rice farmers this dry cropping season through the Agri-Puhunan at Pantawid (APP) program. Initially launched in Guimba, Nueva Ecija, the program will expand to Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. It offers low-cost credit and market support, with a goal to enlist 1 million farmers to produce 5 tons each. The initiative, backed by a P3 billion budget, includes intervention monitoring cards for purchasing inputs.
The government is targeting to assist some 50,000 rice farmers this dry cropping season under a new program that offers low-cost credit and market support, the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) said.
DBP board director Roberto Antonio said they plan to implement the Agri-Puhunan at Pantawid (APP) in parts of Luzon, and eventually in the Visayas and Mindanao, following its launch in Guimba town in Nueva Ecija province.
“The instruction to us is to look into implementing the program in another area in Nueva Ecija,” Antonio said in a briefing in Quezon City (translated from Filipino). “We will be going up to CAR (Cordillera Administrative Region), Pangasinan and Isabela.”
On his 67th birthday last week, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. unveiled the APP, a program of the DBP in partnership with the Department of Agriculture (DA)
Some 5,000 rice farmers in Guimba are part of the APP program, with Antonio saying that studies are underway to expand its coverage to include farmers who cultivate other crops.Article continues after this advertisement
Intervention monitoring
The target is to enlist 1 million farmers who will produce 5 tons each under the initiative.
“This is huge help in attaining our rice requirement,” he added. “We are addressing both the standing order of our President, which is [to work toward] food security and sustainability.”
Through the APP loan program, rice farmers will receive intervention monitoring cards that can be used to purchase seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and ameliorants, and pay for services of accredited merchants of Planters Products Inc.
The DA and the DBP initially allocated P3 billion for the program, which aims to provide a combination of low-interest loans and subsistence allowances to qualified beneficiaries.
Source Link : https://business.inquirer.net/481054/50000-rice-farmers-seen-to-benefit-from-new-dbp-facility
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