(by Gumamela Celes Bejarin, DA-AFID)
The Department of Agriculture (DA) Agriculture Credit Policy Council (ACPC) awarded its top performing lending conduits and farmer and fisher folk borrowers during the first-ever ACPC Production Loan Easy Access (PLEA) Partners’ Reception and Recognition on April 26, 2019.
The award dubbed “Gawad Lingap” recognized the outstanding accomplishment of ACPC lending conduits and farmer/fisher folk borrowers under the PLEA program in terms of loan repayment and utilization.
DA Secretary Manny F. Piñol said, “We were able to reach out to those who do not have access to credit.”
Piñol added that farmers and fisher folk are bankable, trustworthy, and responsible as he encouraged the lending institutions present to continue helping them.
The PLEA lending conduits serve as the arms of the ACPC in reaching out and addressing the financial needs of small farmers and fisher folk, especially those in unbanked areas, for convenient and affordable credit.
They are cooperative banks, cooperatives, and non-government organizations (NGOs) that are accredited or qualified under the ACPC lending programs (Type 1). Also included as lending partners are cooperatives, farmer and fisher folk organizations, and NGOs that are not qualified for Type 1, but comply with the basic eligibility criteria (Type 2). The ACPC cited that many of the lending conduit awardees started from Type 2 eligibility until they were considered for Type 1.
The Council also acknowledged the farmer/fisher folk awardees who have maximized their loans by improving their farm productivity and have repaid their loans by up to 100 percent. The event hosts shared that several lending conduits do not even have to collect payments as the farmers voluntarily come to them for payment.
As of January 2019, the PLEA program has released P1.66 billion worth of loans to 166 lending conduits aiding 37,084 farmers and fisher folk in the country with the repayment rate of 91 percent. PLEA was launched in the fifth class municipality of Malimono, Surigao del Norte on June 23, 2017.
The following are the PLEA lending conduits awarded with the first Gawad Lingap:
Cordillera Administrative Region
– Lengaoan Indigenous Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative
– Tabano Onang Livelihood Project Organization
Region I
– Nueva Ecija Segovia Consortium Cooperative
Region II
– Mallig FST Multi-Purpose Cooperative
– Cordon Multi-Purpose Cooperative
Region III
– New Rural Bank of San Leonardo (NE) Inc.
– Parcutela Primary Multi-Purpose Cooperative
Region IV-A
– Yakap at Halik Multi-Purpose Cooperative Quezon 1
– Rhudarda Multi-Purpose Cooperative
Region IV-B
– Occidental Mindoro Cooperative Bank
– Saklaw Foundation, Inc.
Region V
-Banco Santiago
Region VI
– Dingle Multi-Purpose Cooperative (Iloilo)
– Integrated Barangays of Numancia Multi-Purpose Cooperative
Region VII
– Cebu People’s Multi-Purpose Cooperative
Region VIII
– Metro Ormoc Community Multi-Purpose Cooperative
– Agricultural Development Workers and Employees Multi-Purpose Cooperative
Region IX
– Paglaum Multi-Purpose Cooperative
Region X
– Philippine International Travel Assistance Center Multi-Purpose Cooperative
Region XI, XI, and ARMM
– Mindanao Consolidated Cooperative Banl
Region XII
– Partner Rural Bank of Cotabato
– Sarangani Vegetables Seed Growers Multi-Purpose Cooperative
Region XIII
– Baug CARP Beneficiaries Multi-Purpose Cooperative
– Malimono Multi-Purpose Cooperative
