by Erwin Nicavera/PNA
Hundreds of farmers and fisherfolk in Negros Occidental have benefited from about PHP53 million in loans from the Production Loan Easy Access (PLEA) program of the Department of Agriculture -Agricultural Credit Policy Council (DA-ACPC).
About 1,500 recipient-farmers are covered through two conduits – the Negros Cooperative Bank and Pag-Inupdanay, Inc. — along with La Castellana One Personnel Multi-Purpose Cooperative.
Jane Aplaon, PLEA focal person in Negros Occidental, said there is a high repayment rate among the beneficiaries in Negros Occidental, pegged at 90 percent.
Based on the data, as of Thursday, the Negros Cooperative Bank and Pag-Inupdanay have fully disbursed PHP20-million worth of credit individually since 2017.
La Castellana One Personnel Multi-Purpose Cooperative, which started only in November last year, has disbursed PHP12 million out of the PHP30 million downloaded fund of the ACPC.
“The high repayment rate would mean that the credit program impacts the farmers positively as they are capable of paying even ahead of their payment schedules,” Aplaon said.
The program was implemented in Negros Occidental in 2017, with Cauayan, Hinoba-an, Ilog, Candoni, Kabankalan City, and Sipalay City in the 6th District as pilot areas.
Aside from rice and sugarcane farmers, the program has also benefited those into fisheries, and pineapple and ginger production.
PLEA is a special credit facility designed to address the financial needs of marginal and small farmers and fisherfolk for fast, convenient, and non-collateralized loans for agri-fishery production, which are provided through cooperative banks, cooperatives and non-government organizations (NGOs) as credit delivery channels.
A loan of PHP50,000 per individual farmer is payable within two to 10 years with an interest rate of 6 percent per annum.
“Given such low interest rate, the farmers said it is easy for them to pay. The program has saved them from the burden of incurring other loans with higher interest rates,” Aplaon said.