The Department of Agriculture – High Value Crops Development Program [DA-HVCDP] in collaboration with Agricultural Credit Policy Council [ACPC], Landbank of the Philippines [LBP], Development Bank of the Philippines [DBP], Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation [PCIC] and other partner lending conduits like Ilocos Consolidated Cooperative Bank, Nueva Segovia Consortium Cooperative, Sta. Cruz Savings and Development Cooperative conducted credit briefing on DA credit programs and actual processing of loan applications. The caravan was attended by 187 onion & mango farmers from the province of La Union and Pangasinan. As an expression of firm commitment in our campaign, the Bureau of Plant Industry [BPI], High Value Crops Development Program [HVCDP] and National Urban & Peri-Urban Agriculture Program [NUPAP], Director Gerald Glenn Panganiban is present at the event. Through this credit caravans and by the participations of our partner lending conduits in implementing the credit programs of DA has considerably improved the outreach to borrowers. The farmers have particularly benefited from the existence of branches of financial institutions also proved to be advantageous to end-borrowers as credit become more accessible and long transactions were reduced. To some extent, we were able to increase the “easy access” of the rural sector to credit.

The DA-HVCDP RFO1 also distributed vegetable seeds to farmers-loan applicants during the middle and end of the activity.

© Jeff Rodriguez – HVCDP PMO