DA: New scheme to give small-scale farmers loans at 15% interest

A new deposit scheme of the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) will allow farmers and fisherfolk to avail of loans for agricultural production or microfinance at a 15-percent annual interest, the Agriculture Department said Tuesday. In a statement, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said that to give small-scale farmers access to loans, the ACPC has approved the implementation of the deposit scheme of the Agro-Industry Modernization Credit and Financing Program-Cooperative Banks Agri-Lending Program. The agency has been able to lower its interest rates after it eliminated a layer in the current wholesaler-retailer scheme, said ACPC executive director Jovita Corpuz. “The depository mode scheme offers a pass on rate to borrowers at a maximum of fifteen percent per annum. This is much lower than the interest rates offered in our other programs," Corpuz said. Under this scheme, eligible cooperative banks will receive a stable, low-cost funding support in the form of special time deposits that have a one-year maturity and a maximum interest of three percent per annum, according to Corpuz. “The earnings from these special time deposits can be used to finance loans for small farmers and fisherfolk, in addition to the banks’ existing appropriate and incremental agricultural loan portfolio," she added. Corpuz also said the special time deposit shall be due and demandable any time should there be any "material adverse change in the financial condition or in the regulatory assessment of the cooperative bank." — PE/VS, GMA News