State-run Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) and the Department of Agriculture (DA), through the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC), signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on December 15, 2020, to partner anew in extending financial support to small farmers and fishers affected by the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar and LANDBANK President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo led the virtual MOA signing to implement the expanded SURE Aid and Recovery Project (SURE Aid COVID-19), which will provide an immediate one-time, zero-interest, no collateral loan assistance of P25,000, payable in 10 years, to eligible small farmers and fishers nationwide.
Funded under Republic Act No. 11494 otherwise known as the “Bayanihan to Recover as One Act,” the P1-billion SURE Aid COVID-19 aims to finance the emergency and production capital requirements of small farmers and fishers whose livelihood and income are affected by the pandemic. This will help the beneficiaries to continue their agricultural activities and contribute to sustained food production.
“We will continue what we have started because it is our moral obligation to provide food for all Filipinos, and we start by helping our frontliners and countryside heroes – the farmers and fisherfolk. We want to make sure that we have enough food during the pandemic, and we would like to believe that we can survive and reboot again Philippine agriculture,” said Secretary Dar.
Under the agreement, LANDBANK will administer the SURE Aid COVID-19 loan to as many as 40,000 farmers and fishers, to be released in lump sum through the borrower’s LANDBANK deposit account or cash card. For its part, DA, through its Regional Offices and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Regional Offices will provide the validated list of eligible beneficiaries for the loan assistance.
“We thank the Department of Agriculture under the leadership of Secretary Dar for choosing LANDBANK yet again as partner in the delivery of timely, responsive, and non-interest bearing financing for small farmers and fishers. Rest assured that we will remain your ally in synergizing and intensifying efforts toward the shared vision of a more productive, sustainable, and resilient agriculture sector,” said LANDBANK President Borromeo.
The MOA signing was witnessed by ACPC Executive Director Jocelyn Alma R. Badiola and LANDBANK Agricultural and Development Lending Center Sector Officer-in-Charge Senior Vice President Ma. Celeste A. Burgos. They were joined by LANDBANK Lending Program Management Group Head First Vice President Emellie V. Tamayo and other LANDBANK, DA, and ACPC officials.
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