Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion thinks it is time financial institutions change their mindset about lending to farmers and see agriculture as a profitable business. “We have so much land, so much talent, we just have to make it work and eventually change the mindset of many of our bankers that it’s time to lend to farmers,” he said.

“We have to show them that farmers can be profitable,” he said, as he witnessed the signing of a MOA between the Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) and Yovel East Development Inc. (Yovel East).

The signing was held last January 14, 2024 at the LANDBANK Plaza in Manila. It will combine Yovel East’s expertise in farm clustering under its We Will Rice program and LANDBANK’s financial support through its Agrisenso Plus Lending Program. The agreement “streamlines rice production, enhances profitability, and promotes sustainability. It aims to boost agricultural efficiency, economic growth, and food security.” Signing for LANDBANK was its President and CEO Lynette V. Ortiz, and for Yovel East was its President and CEO, James Amparo.

“With this agreement, we give the farmers under Yovel East’s management access to money, markets and mentorship, the three essentials of successful entrepreneurship which we emphasize in our work at Go Negosyo,” said Concepcion. Among Go Negosyo’s programs is the Kapatid Angat Lahat sa Agri Program (KALAP), which aims to integrate small farmers into the value chain of big agriculture corporations. Advising the program is former Dept. of Agriculture Sec. Dr. William Dar; Yovel East is one of the pioneer big-brother companies of KALAP.

LANDBANK President and CEO Ortiz said that financial assistance “is just one piece of the puzzle in addressing the challenges faced by the agricultural sector.“ She called Yovel East’s We Will Rice Program as exemplifying the potential for creating far-reaching impact, offering farmers access to vital resources, modern technologies, and an end-to-end production process that enhances [farmers’] livelihoods and competitiveness.

From only giving fertilizers to farmers with an after-harvest payment scheme, under its We Will Rice program Yovel East was able to provide and finance the farmers, supplying everything from seeds, chemical inputs, fertilizers, machineries, and even daily cash and labor costs to help the farmers survive. Eventually, Yovel was able to even buy back and market the produce. Yovel East now has thousands of farmers in its fold after only five years of operation.

“One of the difficult parts of being a farmer is the uncertainty,” said Amparo. “Uncertainties in weather, uncertainties in water, uncertainties of where they can get financing for their fertilizers, machineries, and the sad part even the uncertainties of where to sell their produce when they harvest,” he said. This uncertainty feeds the reluctance of financing institutions to lend to farmers. With corporative farming, banks can be given the confidence to lend to farmers because they are assured of sustainability, predictability, and a dependable business model.

Amparo said that the partnership will maximize the strength of each sector: with farmers being able to concentrate on farming, LANDBANK providing the capital, and the private sector, led by Go Negosyo, providing the management prowess to make the business sustainable.

“The idea of corporative farming needs the support of institutions like LANDBANK for them to scale up and continue what they do,” said Concepcion.

LANDBANK’s Agrisenso Plus Program is “designed to deliver a full suite of support—featuring expanded eligibility, lower interest rates, and simplified loan process to provide broader access to credit and other support interventions for small farmers, fishers, and agribusinesses, and other players in the agriculture value chain.” LANDBANK is the largest development financial institution in the Philippines.