NAFC, PNB ink agreement for special vehicle loan program

DA and NAFC officials, led by Sec. Proceso Alcala, formally seal their partnership with PNB representatives led by PNB President Omar Byron Mier during the MOA signing on February 25.

The Special Vehicle Loan Fund (SVLF) Program gets a major boost as the National Agricultural and Fishery Council (NAFC) sealed anew the partnership with the Philippine National Bank (PNB) in the provision of loan assistance to agriculture employees and extension workers.

The signing of the memorandum of agreement for the implementation of the Special Vehicle Loan Fund Program.

NAFC Executive Director Ariel Cayanan and PNB President Omar Byron Mier signed a new memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the implementation of the SVLF Program in the presence of Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Proceso Alcala, together with Undersecretary for Field Operations Joel Rudinas, Undersecretary and Chief of Staff Emerson Palad and DA Legal Service Chief Atty. Vero Librojo.

Other PNB officials present during the signing were Consumer Finance Group Head Elfren Antonio Sarte, Retail Banking Group Head Joven Hernandez and Senior Assistant Vice President Modette Cariño.

The said funds will be used to provide motorcycles to extension workers and other government employees involved in the country’s agricultural development which they could use to reach their clientele more efficiently and improve their performance.

Applicants can avail of the program from PNB payable in seven years with 7.25% interest rate per annum.

Since it was first launched in 1972 by the DA through NAFC, the timely and speedy delivery of basic agricultural and fishery technologies and services to farmers and fishermen, especially those in far-flung areas, have been addressed.

The program has already provided assistance of an estimated 20,000 motorcycle units, almost all of which have already been paid. At present, the guarantee fund has increased to approximately P430M as of December 2012.

Other partners who provided guarantee fund for the program were the National Economic and Development Authority, other government agencies and the Japanese Government through the 2KR facility.

The signing of the said memorandum signifies the re-launching of the said program which took a seven-year hiatus to give way to the needed evaluation of the program’s performance as well as revision of the guidelines.

This is also in response to the continued clamor of stakeholders especially agriculture employees of local government units (LGUs) hoping to avail of the program. To date, there are around 2,000 applications waiting to be served once the program resumes.

NAFC will also be meeting soon with other partners such as motorcycle companies, dealers, PNB branches, insurance providers and participating agencies at the national and regional levels and LGUs at the provincial, city and municipal levels which employ majority of the agricultural workforce.

source: http://nafc.da.gov.ph/NAFCNEWs/2013/pnb.html