Landbank to offer more loans, scholarships to agri families

The state-run Landbank of the Philippines said it is sponsoring scholarships for children of farmers, fisherfolk and other workers in the agriculture sector.

At the inauguration of the Landbank Leadership and Development Center in Intramuros, bank President and CEO Cecilia Cayosa Borromeo also said they seek to disburse more loans to the sector this year.

She said that they disbursed P261 billion in loans to the agriculture sector in 2022, which was the bank’s biggest loan portfolio.

“The jump is more than 5 percent. If you noticed, the agri sector grew very minimally, but our loan portfolio to the agri sector continues to grow more than the growth of that sector,” said Borromeo.

“We will continue with our various lending programs with more focus on the agri sector. We’re looking to support not only the small farmers, but all the players of the agribusiness value chain, even the large agribusiness corporations who have very good business models,” she added.

Aside from loans to farmers and agribusinesses, the bank has also launched the “Iskolar ng Landbank” program wherein about 60 scholars per year will be awarded P100,000 each to cover allowance and other school expenses.

The scholars will be children or grandchildren of farmers, fisherfolks or agrarian reform beneficia- ries. Twelve courses are covered by the scholarship including horticulture, animal science, food technology, information technology, accounting and more.

Borromeo said the program aims “to help the families of the farmers and fishers and also to encourage the younger generation to pursue a career in agriculture.”

Landbank recorded a net income of P30.1 billion last year. It was the first time the bank breached the P30-billion mark. Its target for this year: P35 billion.