The government should provide greater access to credit to farmers and other agricultural workers in order for them to escape poverty, AGRI Party-list said.
“A study published by the Asian Development Bank states that credit is a crucial factor in agricultural development, and we wholeheartedly agree. Considering the fact that our farmers have a 31.6% poverty incidence, kailangan talaga ng mga magsasaka natin ng mapagkukunan ng capital para mapalago nila ang negosyo nila,” AGRI Party-list first nominee and former judge Frank Lobrigo said.
The government should ease credit restrictions that prevent famers from accessing formal credit, including the collaterals and lengthy and complicated procedures.
Lobrigo was referring to the latest poverty figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority, which saw farmers and fisherfolk having the highest poverty incidences in 2018 among the basic sectors identified in Republic Act No. 8425 or the Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act, at 31.6% and 26.2%, respectively. These sectors also registered the highest poverty incidences in 2015 at 40.8% and 36.9%, respectively.
“As it is, farmers have a difficult time securing credit from commercial banks, with small-scale and subsistence agriculture workers sourcing their loans mostly from informal lenders,” Lobrigo said.
“At dahil nga sa mga informal lenders sila umuutang, kalimitan ay napakataas ng interes na sinisingil kaya lalong nababaon sa utang ang ating mga magsasaka,” he added.
The AGRI Party-list nominee said the government should ease credit restrictions that prevent famers from accessing formal credit, including the collaterals and lengthy and complicated procedures.
Lobrigo said the government should also ramp up agricultural support projects to provide greater access to agricultural workers.
The government should also expand the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) of the Department of Agriculture to include more beneficiaries.
“Natutuwa naman kami na may mga programa ang pamahalaan tulad ng Agricultural Credit Support Project ng Landbank, subalit kailangan ng mas malawakang access upang makatulong ito sa mas madami pang mga magsasaka,” he stressed.
The Agricultural Credit Support Project (ACSP) offers loan funds toward increasing investments, creating new job opportunities, and improving agricultural productivity in rural areas. The ACSP provides credit support to agriculture and agri-related projects within a value chain.
Lobrigo said the government should also expand the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) of the Department of Agriculture to include more beneficiaries.
The DA-SAAD Program was implemented in 2017 to aid marginalized farmers and fishers from the 30 poorest of the poor provinces with agriculture and fishery livelihood interventions.
