Agriculture Secretary William Dar (right) keynotes the 5th University Anniversary of the Pampanga State Agricultural University.
MAGALANG, Pampanga — The Department of Agriculture (DA) assured its continuous support to agri-entrepreneurs through the launching of two loan programs.
In his keynote address during the 5th University Anniversary of Pampanga State Agricultural University, DA Secretary William Dar said the loan programs namely Kapital Access for Young Agripreneurs (KAYA) and AgriNegosyo are meant to scale up the agri-business of farmers and fisher folks as well as encourage the young generation to engage in the sector.
“Records from higher education institutions show 603, 000 students graduated with degrees in agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and veterinary medicine from 2014 to 2019, excluding students who took up short courses on those fields,” he said.
Under the KAYA loan program, agripreneurs aged 18 to 30 are offered loans in the form of working capital and fixed asset acquisition requirements for their start up or existing agribusiness.
“Each borrower may loan up to PhP500,000 which is payable for five years with zero interest rate. Aside from that, the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) also provides mentors to assist the borrowers in handling their business,” Dar said.
Meanwhile, the AgriNegosyo loan program is open to sole proprietors, partnerships, corporations, associations, and cooperatives who are planning to start or expand their business ventures.
“Agripreneurs with micro or small business enterprises may avail the loan up to PhP15 million as working capital under this. All they need to do is submit a business plan, government-issued ID, and loan application form to a partner lending conduit,” the secretary said.
He added that ACPC extends loan to farmers and fisher folks through government and non-government financial institutions which act as lending conduits to manage the credit program, disburse credit funds to eligible borrowers, and to monitor and collect loans from borrowers.
A budget of PhP 1-billion each was allocated for the two loan programs.
