CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Stakeholders in Bukidnon province are optimistic that the new loan and insurance scheme of the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) will alleviate economic burdens in farming.

During the launch of the "Agrisenso" Plus program in Malaybalay City on Friday, Mayor Jay Warren Pabillaran emphasized that access to capital is crucial for farmers to sustain crop production and enhance the well-being of beneficiaries.

"In Malaybalay City, many will need capital for their farm production, provided they spend it wisely," he said.

Pabillaran noted that the city also has an Agriculture and Fisheries Council, which has an allocated annual budget to sustain farmers and foster stronger stakeholder engagement with the government.

LandBank's "Agrisenso" (Agriculture Growth and Resource Integration through Strategic and Enhanced Delivery of Support and Opportunities) is a value chain-based financing program designed to empower small farmers, fishers, agrarian reform beneficiaries, and agri-micro, small, and medium enterprises with better access to credit, capacity-building, and market linkages.

The launch in Malaybalay is the first in Mindanao and the fifth nationwide.

More than a thousand farmers and agrarian reform beneficiaries attended the launch.

Marshal Buhawi, a farmer from Cabanglasan town, said that while other money lenders impose interests as high as 10 percent per year on loaned amounts, LandBank's offers a significantly lower four percent.

"I'm farming rice and corn in the meantime, but when I avail of the loan, I plan to venture into a banana plantation," Buhawi said.

A key component of Agrisenso is the Agri-Fishery Support through Capability Enhancement for Nationwide Development, which provides tailored capacity-building support to ensure sustainable and profitable agri-business ventures.

LANDBANK PHOTO