Photo grabbed from DA Facebook page
MANILA – State-owned Landbank of the Philippines (Landbank) has allocated PHP15 billion for lending to hog raisers to help address supply issues partly caused by the African swine fever, but the funds may be increased once needs arise.
In a briefing after the memorandum of agreement (MOA) signing between Landbank and the Department of Agriculture (DA) for the Special Window and Interim Support to Nurture Hog Enterprises (SWINE) lending program on Wednesday, Landbank president and chief executive officer Cecilia Borromeo said they are closely coordinating with DA for this lending program.
“Kung sasabihin sa amin ng DA na itong farm na ito, itong kumpanyang ito ay kailangan tulungan, then we can allocate additional resources. (If the DA says we need to help this farm, this company, then we can allocate additional resources),” she said.
The SWINE lending program will be extended to commercial hog raisers that are registered as cooperatives or farmers’ association, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and large enterprises or corporations.
Borrowers may apply for up to 80 percent of their total project cost, with a fixed annual interest rate of 3 percent for three years, with repricing after the succeeding years.
The minimum loan term is one year while term loans for loans approved as working capital are payable up to five years.
Landbank said loans extended for the acquisition of fixed assets are payable based on the borrowers’ cash flow or payback period of the project, with a grace period on the principal and interest.
This lending program will be available until Dec. 31, 2026 in line with DA’s hog repopulation plan.
Borromeo said the funds’ utilization rate will depend on how fast borrowers submit all the necessary requirements but added applications of existing Landbank borrowers may be processed faster because the bank already has the debtors’ details.
She said application processing and evaluation will be done within 10 working days.
“We know the gravity of the problem. We know the urgency of the interventions needed by the sector so we will work very hard to also process their applications in a very efficient manner,” she added. (PNA)
