Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) has continued to intensify its support to the fisheries sector, with the state-run financial institution announcing earlier this week that its outstanding loans to the sector have already reached P2.8 billion as of November 2022.
In the recent LANDBANK “AgriSenso Virtual Forum,” which gathered more than 115 fisherfolks and other stakeholders nationwide, LANDBANK shared information on all the available lending programs it has that were designed to further boost the contribution of the fisheries sector in achieving food self-sufficiency in the country.
LANDBANK Corporate Affairs Group Head, Vice President Vivian M. Cañonero, and Program Management Department I Program Officer Edgardo C. De Guzman led the discussions.
During the forum, Maria Abegail A. Albaladejo, Fisheries Planning and Economics Division Chief of the Department of Agriculture – Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR), presented the national government’s development plan to further boost the local fisheries value chain.
According to Albaladejo, these development plans include ramping up activities to increase the country’s fish production.
Joseph Anthony P. Lanzar, a LANDBANK loan benefiter from Davao del Sur, also shared the successful expansion of his aquaculture business through LANDBANK’s support.
The LANDBANK “AgriSenso Virtual Forum” forms part of Land Bank’s overall support to the agriculture sector, and is facilitated by the LANDBANK Corporate Affairs Group (CAG) together with the National Development Lending Sector (NDLS) – Lending Program Management Group (LPMG).
Land Bank’s various lending programs
Land Bank is offering the Sustainable Aquaculture Lending Program (SALP) or “Pagsasakang Pantubig” to provide credit assistance to fishers’ associations, non-government organizations (NGOs), micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), large agribusiness enterprises, cooperatives or federations, and countryside financial institutions (CFIs).
Eligible projects under the program cover the whole value chain of fisheries, mariculture, aquaculture and supporting economic activities, such as breeding, hatchery, nursery, production, grow out, fish culture, seaweed farming, processing, trading and other ancillary services.
The LANDBANK SALP or “Pagsasakang Pantubig” is anchored on institutional buyers or processing and canning companies linked with fishers’ cooperatives associations or MSMEs as growers or suppliers.
LANDBANK also provides credit assistance under the Commercial Fishing Vessel Financing Program to assist existing and prospective commercial fishing operators in acquiring fishing vessels for domestic or overseas use.
The program caters to single proprietorships, partnerships, cooperatives and corporations, for the purchase or acquisition of brand-new, second-hand or refurbished commercial fishing boats and related equipment.