Provincial Capitol Gymnasium, Sarangani
April 11, 2025

“Hindi po lingid sa ating kaalaman ang mga pagsubok na patuloy na inyong hinaharap. May ilan nga po sa inyo na napipilitang umutang nang napakataas na interes — isang sitwasyong lalong nagpapabigat pa sa inyong pinagdaraanan. Bilang tugon ng pamahalaan, inilulunsad natin ang Agri-Puhunan at Pantawid Program,” conveyed President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to the beneficiaries of the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Agri-Puhunan at Pantawid (APP) Program during its official launching in Mindanao held in the Province of Sarangani.

Under this program, farmers may borrow a total of PhP60,000 with a low interest rate of 2% per year. They can also repay their loans by selling their harvests to the National Food Authority (NFA) or DA-accredited cooperatives.

“Sa panahon naman ng pagtatanim hanggang sa pag-aani, makakatanggap din po kayo ng tulong-pantawid na nagkakahalaga ng P8,000 tuwing unang linggo sa loob ng apat na buwan. Hangad po naming makatulong ito sa pagtugon ng inyong pangangailangan habang naghihintay kayo ng anihan,” the President added in his remarks.

During the program, he led the distribution of Interventions Monitoring Card (IMC) that can be used by farmers to purchase seeds, fertilizers and other farming tools through accredited merchants. Apart from these, he also turned over various farm machineries and equipment (FMEs) such as mobile disinfection trucks and forage choppers to help farmers increase their rice productivity and profit.

“Bahagi ang mga serbisyong ito sa isang mas malawak at mas matibay na estratehiya para sa tunay [at] pang-matagalang pagbabago,” the Chief Executive further stated, citing other programs being implemented to empower the agriculture sector. Among these are the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Program, credit programs of the DA-Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) such as the Agri-Negosyo (ANYO) Loan Program, Survival and Recovery (SURE) Assistance Program and Young Agripreneurs Loan Program, among many others.

“Sa inyo pong pagtanggap sa mga tulong na ito, umaasa po ako na mas lilinangin ninyo ang inyong mga kakayahan, at magiging bukas kayo sa mga makabagong teknolohiya at pananaw sa agrikultura,” he said.

“Sama-sama po natin tahakin ang landas ng pagbabago. Itatag natin ang isang mas progresibo, mas maunlad, [at] mas matatag na Bagong Pilipinas. Isang bayang may dangal at katarungan, kung saan ang bawat sakripisyo ng magsasaka ay may katumbas na ginhawa at pag-asa,” President Marcos Jr. concluded his message.

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