LandBank taking advantage of space tech to boost agri financing

The Land Bank of the Philippines is working with the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) and the Department of Science and Technology-Advanced Science and Technology Institute (DOST-ASTI) to take advantage of space data and analytics as these relate to financing activities in the agriculture sector.
LandBank signed a collaboration agreement just last week covering the development and use of space-related technologies for financial applications, the conduct of joint research and exchange of relevant data for the undertaking and organization of training symposia and similar activities and the sharing of technological resources.
“Our collaboration with PhilSA and DOST-ASTI is a welcome opportunity to further strengthen LandBank’s agribusiness value chain financing strategies through cutting-edge data. We will continue to explore innovative opportunities to firm up our support for modernizing and growing the agriculture sector,” said Lynette Ortiz, LandBank president and chief executive officer.
According to her, the partnership will provide the bank with key insights to strengthen its capability in rolling out more effective lending strategies for the agribusiness value chain, including accurate assessment of multiple risks, the monitoring on near-real-time and site-specific basis and understanding the performance and prospects of various agricultural commodity systems.
Ortiz said this will further help support players in the agribusiness value chain as the state-run bank extended P713.8 billion as agriculture and rural development financing in the first six months of the year.