Farmers will no longer need to rely on loan sharks or bad loans to make ends meet as the Department of Agriculture (DA) would provide up to P60,000 per farmer per cropping season, DA Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said on Saturday, Sept. 14.
(MB file photo)
The official, who is a spokesperson for DA, announced during the Quezon City news forum that the DA launched the “Agri-Puhunan at Pantawid Program” in time for the celebration of President Marcos’ 67th birthday on Friday.
The program is a credit facility that will allow farmers registered in the Registry System for Basic Sector in Agriculture to avail around P60,000 in additional government subsidies every cropping season.
“Ang pangunahin dito is makakawala sila doon sa mga loan sharks. Imagine mo, sa 5-6 (Primary to this is they will get out of those loan sharks. Imagine, in a 5-6 [scheme]) that’s 20 percent per month – ito one percent sa isang cropping season o sa kalahating taon ay two percent per annum, halos hindi ramdam ito ng ating mga magsasaka (this one is just one percent in a cropping season or in half a year, that’s two percent per annum, our farmers won’t notice this already),” the DA official explained.
Describing the new program as a “great opportunity,” De Mesa said that historically, farmers register a 95 percent paying rate under these kinds of credit facilities.
The “Agri-Puhunan at Pantawid Program” will be available on top of the existing subsidies, such as fertilizers, machineries, and water, provided by the government.
The two components of the credit facility are: P28,000 for the production inputs and P8,000 per month, or P32,000 in total, for the whole cropping season. This will equal to P60,000 per cropping season.
“So, hindi na mamumroblema iyong ating mga magsasaka kung saan sila kukuha ng additional na panggastusin nila, additional na pera para pambili ng fertilizer or additional inputs doon sa kanilang sakahan (our problems will not worry anymore about where they can get additional allowances, additional funding to buy fertilizer or additional inputs for their farms),” De Mesa said.
The DA official stressed that the new program aims to encourage farmers to plant more during the cropping season because the government will provide not only funding, but materials that would help the farmers.
“With these credits of worth, mas maiengganyo silang magtanim dahil mayroon silang kasiguruhan na—hindi sila mawawalan ng puhunan eh at saka iyong kanila ngang pantawid na habang hinihintay na ma-harvest iyong palay, mayroon pa silang gastusin na (they will be encouraged to plant more because they are sure that—they won’t lose their capital and they have help while waiting for the harvest, they have) ₱8,000 additional every month,” he added.