Agrarian reform beneficiaries to benefit from P10-billion LANDBANK AGRISENSO Lending Program

Agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) and the whole agriculture value-chain will benefit from the P10 billion fund allotted by the Land Bank of the Philippines for the LANDBANK AGRISENSO Lending Program to bolster food security and sufficiency nationwide.

Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary Conrado M. Estrella III said AgriSenso was created in collaboration with multiple government agencies, namely the LBP, the Department of Agriculture, the Agricultural Credit Policy Council, and the National Irrigation Administration.

“All these agencies promote cluster farming which are run by cooperatives and associations of farmers,” Estrella said.

He said that under the whole-of-government approach, the DAR, in coordination with the said agencies fully commits to support the ARBs who are members of various ARB organizations (ARBOs) nationwide.

LBP Executive Vice President Alex Lorayes said the P10-billion fund aims to provide affordable financing to ARBs and the whole agriculture value-chain with only seven percent (7 %) interest per annum.

“LandBank eyes at least 5,000 AgriSenso borrowers with an initial total amount of P500 million under LandBank’s new lending program,” Lorayes said.

He disclosed that since AgriSenso started in July, applications have been coming in but have not yet determined the definite number of borrowers.

“Rest assured that LANDBANK will continue to support the government's intensified efforts to extend meaningful interventions for the farmers to provide for them a more prosperous and sustainable agricultural sector,” Lorayes said.