DA Offers Loan Program for Farmers

The Department of Agriculture (DA) will be offering a soft loan program for farmers to improve their income and to help them cope up from the damages brought by disasters and calamities.

Narciso Edillo, DA regional director, said the assistance will be given through the Production Loan Easy Access (PLEA) next year.

Edillo said the provision of such assistance is a pet project of Secretary Emmanuel Pinol in which its guidelines will be released in a few days.

Under the loan program, farmers can avail of P15,000 per hectare or depending on his need for capital with only 6 percent interest per year.

Edillo said the PLEA will only require a few documentary requirements from farmer-recipients which can be accessed through cooperative banks in the country as conduits.

“One of the major problems of farmers is their insufficient capital and this is the solution offered by Secretary Pinol,” Edillo added.

He assured that the PLEA will have enough fund of P9.5 billion because this has been included in the DA’s national budget for 2018.

He said as announced by Secretary Pinol during his visit in Cauayan City in May 2016, Isabela province will be a pilot area of the project with an initial budget of P100 million. (ALM/Ben Moses Ebreo /PIA 2-Nueva Vizcaya)