DAVAO OCCIDENTAL ARBS BENEFIT FROM DAR-LBP’s AFFORD-ARB PROGRAM
Sta. Maria, Davao Occidental. A total of nine (9) Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBS) of Davao Occidental and Davao del Sur are the first batch to avail a total of Php1.6 million production loan from the DAR-LBP Accessible Funds for Delivery to ARBs (AFFORD-ARB) program intended for their individual farm production.
Five (5) ARBs from Davao Occidental and four (4) from Davao del Sur got an approved loan ranging between 80 Thousand Pesos to 300 Thousand Pesos each according to their submitted farm plan and budget.
Celestino Ayo, an ARB from Basiawan, Sta. Maria, Davao Occidental remarked that the loan is very timely for the expansion of his banana production. He added that “maulaw ko sa gobyerno kay gihatag pa ang among titulo bisan ug wa pami ka-impas sa bayranan, gipahuwam pa jud mig kwarta pang capital” (I felt embarrassed because the government not only gave us the titles to our land even if we have not yet totally paid the amortization, and now it allowed us to borrow certain money as capital). Mr. Ayo added that he hoped to install an improvised irrigation system in his banana farm as assurance for continuous production. He also promised to dutifully comply with loan amortization schedule. The ARBs with approved credit facility will be using the proceeds for Banana (Lacatan) production.
Engr. Rameses Lomongo, who is currently the OIC-Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II in Davao Occidental, emphasized “credit consciousness” and challenged the beneficiaries to make use of the credit facility wisely.
The AFFORD-ARB program was established in compliance with Presidential Directive No. 2018-0176 dated April 24, 2018 which directs the “Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) in coordination with the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and the Department of Agriculture (DA), to reach out to farmers and provide them with financial assistance for their agricultural needs.
The credit facility is also geared to provide direct credit assistance to small farmers for crop production and acquisition of small farm implements. (yadz geyrozaga-pio)
