NEWSFLASH

P50-MILLION LOANS FOR MINDANAO CORN FARMERS

Malaybalay, Bukidnon, Sept. 6, 1999 - Corn farmers in Mindanao have recently availed of close to P50 million in fresh loans to finance their acquisition of farm machinery and construction of post-harvest facilities, in line with the medium-term goal of the Estrada administration to attain self-sufficiency in grains and develop the island into the country's chief food basket.

A bulk of these government-issued loans went to Bukidnon, where an estimated 20 percent of total harvests went to waste last year owing to the lack of corn shelling, drying, storage and other post-harvest facilities.

The loans were released by the Quedan and Rural Credit Guarantee Corp. (Quedancor), under the Agrikulturang MakaMASA program of the Department of Agriculture (DA), to two cooperatives and a technology center.

President Joseph Estrada and Agriculture Secretary Edgardo Angara turned over the loan of P34.65 million to two groups in Cabanglasan, Bukidnon -- P26.65 million to the Cabanglasan Agro Service and Technology Center (CASTech) and P8 million loan to the Cabanglasan Livelihood Development Multipurpose Cooperative (CLDMPC).

Mr. Estrada and the DA secretary also gave a P14.37 million loan check to the Wilkon Hinaplanan Integrated Sericulture Farmers Multipurpose Cooperative (WHISFAMPC) in Claveria, Misamis Oriental.

Just recently, the Quedancor also released P10 million in loans to rural cooperatives and banks in five provinces that would benefit nearly 800 farmers and other rural folk.

P5 million was released by the Quedancor to the Cooperative Bank of Quezon, P3 million to the Lamut Grassroot Savings and Development Cooperative (Lagsadeco) in Ifugao, P1.45 million to the Paglaum Multipurpose Cooperative in South Cotabato, and P1 million to the M'lang Christian Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Northern Cotabato.

In a report, the Quedancor said CASTech owner Arnold de Lara Sanvictores received the P26.65 million loan while CLDMPC Chairman Venancio Villanueva received the P8 million loan. Both loans will be used by corn growers to acquire farm machinery and build post-harvest facilities.

It said the CLDMPC and CASTech recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement with DA, Quedancor and the Cabanglasan municipal government on the establishment of a corn production project and a Grains Service Center in the town.

"Recent estimates by the DA showed that 20 percent of the total grains produced in Bukidnon for 1998 were unnecessary destroyed due to inadequacy or lack of access to corn shelling, drying and storage spaces," the Quedancor reported.

The third check for P14.37 million was handed over by the Chief Executive and Angara to WHISFAMPC Chairman Ramon Molina Jr. for the cooperative's corn production project in Misamis Oriental.

These facilities were released through the Agrikulturang MakaMASA's Rice and Corn Based Farming System (AM-RCBFS), which target peasant groups that cannot access credit through formal lending institutions because of rigid bank requirements like collateral and credit track records.

Aside from expanding the rural folk's access to affordable credit and the construction of post- harvest facilities, the other priority projects of the Agrikulturang MakaMASA are the installation of irrigation systems and rehabilitation of existing but dilapidated ones; intensive use of high-yield seeds; construction of farm-to-market roads and bridges, and development of agriculture research and development.

The Estrada administration's food-security objective is for the country to be self-sufficient in rice by the year 2002, in corn by 2003, and in fish by 2004.

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Reported by: Sol Jose Vanzi