$1-B World Bank loan deal due for signing in July

THE PHILIPPINES is set to sign in July a $1-billion loan agreement with the World Bank to support its sustainable agriculture transformation program.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) issued the statement after a meeting between Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. and World Bank Country Director Zafer Mustafaoglu on Feb. 10.

The signing of the $1-billion Philippine Sustainable Agricultural Transformation (PSAT) loan program set for July “coincides with President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s fourth State of the Nation Address,” the DA said in a statement.

The five-year PSAT initiative, scheduled for launch in August, seeks to strengthen the agri-fishery sector by providing targeted support to agri-food systems, including climate-responsive strategies, policy reforms, and enhanced fiscal management.

“As the Philippines’ first project under the World Bank’s Program-for-Results (PforR) financing framework, PSAT aims to improve the efficiency of government spending while ensuring sustainable outcomes by building institutional capacity and strengthening governance,” the DA said.

Mr. Laurel and Mr. Mustafaoglu also discussed a $15-million grant funded by the UK for technical assistance that will help the DA implement the transformation program by “enhancing internal audits, evaluating resource use alternatives, assessing sectoral transformation, and expanding the availability of improved planting materials for high-value crops.”

“This supplementary funding, processed through the Philippine government system, will be endorsed by the Department of Finance and the National Economic and Development Authority through the Development Budget Coordination Committee,” the DA said. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza