The Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Credit Policy Council (DA-ACPC) conducted a consultation meeting with the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) on September 13, 2024 for a potential partnership on the design and delivery of specialized training modules under Republic Act 11901 or the “Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development Financing Enhancement Act of 2022.”
Under the potential partnership, LANDBANK and DA-ACPC will co-develop training modules focused on agri-based projects and enterprises to address the development needs of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs), duly registered farmers, as well as members of their household and their MSMEs, and agrarian reform communities, particularly to equip them with the appropriate knowledge and skills to improve their welfare, competitiveness, income and productivity.
R.A. 11901 aims to enhance access of rural communities and agricultural and fisheries households to financial services and programs by mandating banks to lend or invest in the agri sector through various modes of compliance. Relating to this, Section 9, Penalty Clause, states that that 20% of the penalties on banks for noncompliance and under-compliance to the Act “shall be allocated as fund for agricultural- and fishery-related organizational- capacity- and institution-building programs and activities.”
The meeting was attended by DA-ACPC Director for Policy Research and Planning Staff Magdalena Casuga, Policy and Research Advocacy Division Chief Kennedy Garabiag, LBP Head for the Developmental Assistance Department Crisso B. Pernito, Capacity Building Director Nestor Tapia, officers from the DA-ACPC Institutional Capacity Building Division, and officers from the LBP Development Assistance Department.
The DA-ACPC and LBP agreed that there is a need for harmonizing training implementation, such as Financial Literacy Training. It was also agreed that all agencies involved in similar training programs should convene to develop a standardized training module and establish best practices for effective implementation.
Stay tuned for updates on the upcoming partnership and DA-ACPC’s other initiatives for agri-fishery credit and capacity building under R.A. 11901.