The Land Bank of Philippines and the provincial government of Bohol are partners in a fish buy-back program providing local fishers a sure market for their daily catch while reducing the retail price of fish in the province.
Under the program, the provincial government of Bohol directly buys the fish catch of local fishers associations and handle the sales of partner trader groups.
The state-owned lender ensures the availability of affordable financing to support the operations of participating parties and facilitate the cashless disbursement of payments under the partnership.
LANDBANK said the agreement was formally signed by Bohol governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado and bank president and chief executive officer Cecilia Cayosa Borromeo last Friday at the Bohol Provincial Capitol in Tagbilaran City.
Under the partnership, LANDBANK will also extend loans to 25 participating fishers associations through the Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund for the purchase of equipment that include fishing boats, marine engines and fish nets, as well as production inputs for fish cage culture.
The bank will also extend loans to 10 fish vendor and trader groups for the purchase of fish catch by the provincial government, including their commercial distribution at a price lower than the prevailing market price.
LANDBANK already approved P162.8 million in loans to 17 fishers associations and 7 fish trader groups to jumpstart the program, charging interest as low as 2 percent for five years, payable every six months from the date of the initial drawdown.
The provincial government of Bohol is expected to implement the fish buy-back program in the four priority municipalities of Talibon, Bien Unido, Getafe and Buenavista within the month.
There are plans of an eventual roll-out in other parts of the province.
The fish buy-back program adopts a cashless arrangement to promote the province’s push for faster and more secure disbursement of funds with all payments between the provincial government, the fishers associations and trader groups facilitated through LANDBANK’s iAccess and weAccess facilities.
