Philguarantee-covered Agri Loans Surge 43% in H1, Bolstering Farmer Support

AGRICULTURAL LOANS covered by the Philippine Guarantee Corp. (Philguarantee) rose 42.96% in the first six months, driven by increased lending activity by partner lending institutions (PLIs) supporting small farmers and fisherfolk (SFFs). In its Agricultural Guarantee Fund Pool status report, the state-run corporation said year to date total guaranteed loans hit P3.34 billion at the end of June, up from P2.34 billion a year earlier, it said in a statement. Commercial, thrift, and rural bank loans received guarantees which were up 50.63% from a year earlier at P3.09 billion. Partner cooperative loans receiving guarantees rose 23.83% to P176.99 million. Philguarantee said total enrolled transactions rose 22.52% from a year earlier to 36,821 accounts. This translated to 31,737 SFFs assisted during the first semester, up 16.6%. Meanwhile, it said outstanding guaranteed loans stood at P2.28 billion at the end of June, up 48.12%, covering 22,148 accounts. Philguarantee also expanded its network of active PLIs to 101 during the first half, up from 91 in the prior year, primarily through the accreditation of additional cooperatives. “Philguarantee remains committed to encouraging private and public financial institutions to extend credit to the agricultural sector by providing robust risk-mitigating credit guarantee coverage, thereby supporting national priorities in rural development and food security,” it said. — Aaron Michael C. Sy