LAND Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) is boosting its support of rice-producing provinces with two new agri-hubs to bring accessible financial services and improve economic activity.

LandBank said on Friday that it inaugurated an agri-hub in Oriental Mindoro and another one in Misamis Occidental as part of its effort to increase rice production in these provinces.

"The strategic presence of LandBank agri-hubs in the country's top rice-producing provinces ensures that we meet the developing needs of rice farmers and other agricultural players," LandBank President and CEO Lynette Ortiz said in the statement.

LandBank said that the agri-hub located in Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro will bring accessible financial services to the 36 barangay (villages) of the town and the three nearby barangay of the municipality of Bansud.

The facility will benefit over 12,200 farmers and fisherfolk and around 5,300 beneficiaries of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. LandBank said this will also benefit workers from the local government and private clients as they no longer need to travel far to reach other LandBank branches.

The state-owned bank has been putting up agri-hubs in the top rice-producing provinces in the country to bring various financial services accessible in one area.

Such services include account opening, withdrawals, and check encashments; lending services such as the processing of loan applications; and other agrarian services.

As of end-December last year, LandBank has allocated a total of P755.1 billion in outstanding loans to agriculture and rural development. Its loans in agriculture and rural development totaled P755.1 billion, an increase of 23 percent from P614.8 billion in the third quarter.

These recorded loans were part of the fulfillment of its social mandate of promoting countryside development.

By the end of 2024, LandBank anticipates its allocation for agriculture, fisheries and rural development (AFRD) loans to hit P825 billion.

The AFRD financing extends to different sectors of the agricultural value chain, covering marketing, processing, distribution, logistics, storage of agricultural and fishery products, facility construction and renovation, agri-tourism, and agricultural mechanization, among other areas.