Manila: The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) has expanded access to affordable financing and support services to farmers in irrigated areas, in partnership with Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank). NIA signed a memorandum of agreement with LandBank on June 11 to widen financing opportunities, enhance farm productivity and support food security in irrigated areas through coordinated, targeted support to farming communities nationwide.
According to Philippines News Agency, the initiative directly aligns with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s broader UPLIFT (Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport) framework to protect livelihoods, stabilize food supply and support key sectors. Under the agreement, NIA will mobilize eligible farmer groups, including irrigators' associations, federations of irrigators' associations, irrigators service cooperatives and their members. LandBank will provide financing and credit administration under the Agrisenso Plus Lending Program.
In a news release Monday, NIA Administrator Eduardo Guillen said the partnership unlocks vital opportunities to deliver 'adequate, affordable, accessible, and timely support' for Filipino food producers nationwide. 'By empowering the whole agricultural value chain, we catalyze an economic multiplier effect that drives genuine, inclusive growth across the nation,' he said.
LandBank president and chief executive officer Lynette Ortiz lauded the collaboration as it seeks to boost local farm productivity and food security efforts. "By bringing together irrigation and financing, we align two critical requirements for stronger farm performance,' she said. 'With NIA's extensive network on the ground and LandBank's development financing, we are in a better position to support our farmers as they move forward with greater confidence.'
To date, the program has expanded across key provinces nationwide, bringing formal credit closer to agricultural stakeholders in underserved rural areas. As of April, LandBank has released about PHP3.78 billion in loans, benefitting more than 15,200 eligible borrowers nationwide. Agrisenso Plus, a LandBank flagship financing program, is designed to support agricultural modernization. It offers affordable credit at an interest rate of only three percent per annum to small farmers, fishers and agrarian reform beneficiaries.
