Agricultural Credit Policy CouncilExecutive Director Jocelyn Badiola (Screengrab) MANILA - The Department of Agriculture (DA) has a loan program exclusively for migrant workers repatriatedbecause of the Covid-19 pandemic and who want to venture into the agribusiness. Through its Agricultural Credit Policy Council's (ACPC) Agri-Negosyo (ANYO) program, the DA has helped 108 former overseas Filipino workers since the start of the pandemic two years ago, Executive Director Jocelyn Badiola said in a virtual briefing on Tuesday. "We have lent over PHP40 million to repatriated OFWs through the ANYO Program," she said. "Those who lost their jobs abroad due to the pandemic were granted loans to pursue agribusiness as a new means of income." Currently, they are processing 58 more applications. She said the OFWs can arrange with the embassies in their host countries to inquireabout the program if they are going home and want to start an agribusiness. ANYO was rolled out in
(Photo courtesy of the Department of Agriculture)
In a virtual press conference Tuesday, May 4, Executive Director Jocelyn Badiola, director of the DA-Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) called on farmers, fisherfolks, and entrepreneurs to apply for a much-needed financial assistance before their office.
“I encourage everyone, if you want to get into agriculture, you don’t have to worry about your working capital because we have programs that can provide loans at very easy terms, zero interest, no collateral, and five to 10 years to pay depending on your project cycle,” Badiola said.
“And tutulungan po namin kayong gumawa ng (We will help you come up with a) business plan and we have available training because we link with ATI (Agriculture Training Institute). All you have to do is to go to ACPC access and sign up if you are interested and we will schedule you for a program briefing,” the director added.