An extension of an initial partnership signed by BPI with PIC in 2013, the new deal was signed last week to extend the partnership for another five years. The partnership was established to help in achieving the United Nations sustainable development goals, such as eradicating hunger and promoting the use of biogas facilities that convert farm waste to energy alongside climate-controlled and -resilient farms.

In an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, BPI president Cezar Consing said:

A lot of the (livestock) disease comes from backyard producers so you have to raise the standards and you’ve got to raise the output because the amount of land for agriculture is getting smaller because it’s being converted to real estate and commercial areas.

Jo Ann Eala, head of sustainable energy finance at BPI, added:

We live in a country where there’s hunger. If we can help farmers to be very efficient because their pig farms will be done the right way and they will be climate-resilient, then they will be using clean and affordable energy at the same time, it will help. It’s bigger than what it seems and BPI alone can’t do it. We’re a bank, we can help finance but we need external help.

Vincent Borromeo, PIC general manager, commented:

The way the economy is moving, we expect demand for pork to grow significantly because people will be able to afford more and there will be more demand for better quality pork and with that, producers will need to grow their operations to serve that demand. With this tie-up with BPI, we can better address those needs of farmers.

When asked whether PIC is also able to service small and medium pig farms, Borromeo said PIC had a network of distributors which can support smaller players nationwide:

They may not need to go to the bank for financing or they may take a lower level financing package but we deliver every month a couple of hundred animals (breeder sows) into that small-farm segment.

As reported by the Philippine Daily Inquirer

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