THE Land Financial institution of the Philippines (LANDBANK) mentioned it lent P75 million to Reicher Banana Farm, Inc. (RBFI) to assist it get well from Panama illness.

“RBFI availed of a P75-million mortgage from LANDBANK in 2018 to complement working capital and buy the required inputs and tools for rehabilitation,” LANDBANK mentioned.

“After two years of rehabilitation, RBFI totally recovered from the plant illness and is now harvesting round 10,000 containers of produce per week — a 100% enhance from the earlier manufacturing of 5,000 containers per week,” it added.

In 2013, the farm’s 74-hectare banana plantation was hit by the plant illness. Panama illness infested Cavendish plantations all through Davao de Oro and close by areas.

“LANDBANK acknowledges the significance of every subsector of agriculture to make sure meals safety. By accessible credit score help, we stand able to help the various necessities of agri gamers to spice up manufacturing and earnings,” LANDBANK President and Chief Govt Cecila C. Borromeo mentioned.

RBFI additionally used a portion of the LANDBANK mortgage for land enlargement and modernization, together with the acquisition of a digital system for logging banana numbers per bunch, weight, age, and placement within the plantation.

“With the information, RBFI can digitally monitor the well being of the crops and precisely distribute farm inputs resembling fertilizer, thereby serving to the corporate save on prices. The generated information additionally permits RBFI to forecast harvests inside a given season,” it added.

RBFI has since expanded its plantation to 130 hectares and generates employment for round 220 residents. The banana harvest is exported to South Korea, China, and the Center East.

As of June, LANDBANK’s mortgage portfolio to help the banana business totaled P1.49 billion. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson