CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) will pilot the “Binhi E-Padala” initiative in Central Luzon.
DBP President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel Herbosa said this is designed to enhance the delivery and distribution of seeds to rice farmers through digital technology.
“DBP and PhilRice will be working with PayMaya Philippines Inc. and the Nueva Ecija Seed Growers Multipurpose Cooperative (NESGMC) for this. Its initial implementation is expected to benefit about 5,000 farmers,” he added.
The new system will be rolled-out in Aliaga, Bongabon, Cabanatuan City, Cuyapo, General Natividad, Guimba, Licab, Llanera, Lupao, Nampicuan, Quezon, Rizal, San Jose City, Science City of Muñoz, Sto. Domingo, Talavera and Talugtug in Nueva Ecija; and in Gerona, Paniqui, Pura, Ramos, Tarlac City, and Victoria in Tarlac.
“DBP lauds this initiative as it presents a new and exciting development in the use of financial technology to improve and innovate traditional practices in the agriculture sector,” Herbosa furthered.
Under the Binhi E-Padala, farmer-beneficiaries will receive an SMS-based notification from PayMaya containing codes that they will use in claiming the inbred rice seeds from NESGMC.
All codes used to claim the seeds can be easily monitored and reported to facilitate payment to NESGMC through DBP as the authorized government depository bank for the project.
“Through this new approach, we can expect a more efficient and effective implementation of seed distribution activities, which is a boon to scaling up production for a valued staple such as rice,” Herbosa said.