In line with the government’s call to boost financial inclusion in the country and for more efficient delivery of public services to citizen beneficiaries, the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has chosen PayMaya as the digital financial services partner for its assistance program, which aims to help farmers improve their livelihood and productivity.

Under the program, farmer-beneficiaries will be able to receive payments for produce as well as disbursements from cash assistance from DBP-partner local governments and organizations through their PayMaya-powered ID cards. PayMaya will also be providing the cashless disbursement platform to the partner organizations.

To complete the digital financial ecosystem, PayMaya will enable more businesses, especially in retail, food, fuel, and utility industries, that cater to farmers and their families to accept emerging cashless payment options, including PayMaya QR. It will also mobilize its Smart Padala by PayMaya nation-widest partner branch network to serve as “digital outposts” in the communities so farmers and their families can conveniently add or cash-out funds even in areas without ATMs.

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Financial inclusion

“Giving our farmers much-needed access to financial products to help uplift their livelihood is an important mission for DBP as part of our thrust toward financial inclusion for every Filipino,” said Emmanuel Herbosa, president and CEO, DBP. “By employing digital means to deliver crucial financial services to them, we are able to help boost their productivity, increase their yields, improve their lives, and contribute to the growth of the economy as a whole.”

“This is financial inclusion at its finest and most relevant, serving the needs of one of the most underserved sectors of our society: our farmers. This project brings important digital financial services to the agriculture sector, serving as building blocks toward the growth of our economy,” said Orlando B. Vea, founder and CEO, PayMaya.

Empowering farmers

The initial implementation will be targeting rice and tobacco farmers in Isabela Province, with the Provincial Government of Isabela and the Nagkaisang Magsasaka ng Isabela Agricultural Cooperative (NMIAC) as program partners.

Dubbed as the Isabela Prosperity Program, the pilot will cover two sets of farmer-beneficiaries: tobacco farmers covered by the Isabela Province Tobacco Farmers Proceeds and rice farmer members of NMI Agri Coop who will benefit from NMI Agri Coop loan with DBP, selling their palay harvest at a premium price under the Expanded Rice Credit Assistance of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ERCA-RCEF).

DBP and PayMaya are partnering with the Provincial Government of Isabela to more efficiently disburse the proceeds of the province’s share in the excise tax collections on burley and native tobacco among farmers in the region through PayMaya-powered ID cards.

Likewise, the DBP and PayMaya are working with the NMIAC to more efficiently disburse and buy rice crops at a premium rate from its member-farmers in the province under the Expanded Rice Credit Assistance under the ERCA-RCEF, also via ID cards powered by PayMaya. This is seen as an immediate boost to mitigate the impact of the Rice Tariffication Law, in parallel with a more sustainable program to improve livelihood resiliency.

The first batch of farmer-beneficiaries received their NMIAC ID cards powered by PayMaya during a provincial launch event on Oct. 12 in Roxas, Isabela. The event was attended by over 4,000 farmer beneficiary members of NMIAC, with Senator Villar and the Department of Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar participating in the activity.

The program partners will also conduct relevant digital and financial literacy campaigns to spur adoption and build overall financial inclusion in the communities.

By equipping farmers with PayMaya-powered ID cards, they are able to gain instant and convenient access to a “starter” financial account which can help them with their day-to-day transactions. This also provides the gateway for them to avail of other financial products and services.

The partnership also provides DBP and its partners with a seamless, convenient, and transparent means to disburse funds, loan proceeds, and other payments to their partner-beneficiaries, allowing for greater operational efficiencies and security. It also extends the reach of DBP to communities with limited bank branch and ATM presence.