State-run Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) has so far given P2.2 billion in loans to rice farmers in a bid to boost the country’s rice production.

Through its Expanded Rice Credit Assistance under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ERCA-RCEF), the bank said it has provided loans to a total of 13,701 rice farmers and cooperatives as of July 31, 2023.

“A total of P1.1 billion of the Bank’s loan releases under ERCA-RCEF directly financed palay production of individual rice farmers listed under the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA),” Landbank said in a statement.

Meanwhile, it noted that P507.5 million was earmarked for the re-lending of cooperatives to its rice farmer members; P394.1 million for rice trading and milling; and P222 million for the purchase of farm machinery and equipment.

According to Landbank data, 4,783 of the 13,701 recipients were from Region 2, mainly the rice-growing provinces of Cagayan, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quirino.

It has also assisted 1,858 beneficiaries from Region 3; 1,463 from Region 6; 1,334 from Region 13; 1,323 from Region 4-B; and the rest from Regions 1, 4-A, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).

Landbank President and CEO Lynette V. Ortiz said the state-run bank is doing its share to fortify the local rice production by providing accessible and responsive financial assistance to rice farmers.

“In partnership with the DA, the ERCA-RCEF program forms part of our commitment to advance the agriculture sector and empower Filipino farmers,” she said.

The ERCA-RCEF, a credit facility implemented in collaboration with the agriculture department, aims to increase the output and income of small rice farmers and their cooperatives while easing the initial effects of Republic Act No. 11203, generally known as the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL).

The Landbank said the allocated funds for the ERCA-RCEF from 2019 to 2022 have been fully distributed, and it will continue to provide cooperatives and rice farmers registered under the RSBSA with P500 million in loans each year until 2024 throughout the 38 rice-producing provinces of the country.

The ERCA-RCEF Program allows individual rice farmers to borrow up to 90 percent of their total project cost at a low fixed interest rate of 2 percent per year. (Manila Bulletin, Jel Santos, Sept. 24, 2023)