MANILA - Multilateral lender Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has signed on Wednesday 2 loan agreements totaling $505.7 million for agricultural programs of state-run Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) after recent back-to-back typhoons.

"The loan agreement between JICA and Landbank and DBP goes a long way in helping our farmers recover from typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng," said Finance Secretary Margarito Teves, who was present at the signing.

DBP obtained a loan worth $341.5 million, equivalent to 30.380 billion yen, for its Logistics Infrastructure Development Project. The project involves an investment financing facility that can be accessed by private corporations, government-owned and -controlled corporations and local government units to finance infrastructure and support systems.

Landbank, meanwhile, received a $164.2-million loan, equivalent to 14.608 billion yen, for its Agricultural Credit Support Project. This aims to create investment and job opportunities in rural areas, and make available short, medium and long-term credit to address business needs of agriculture players in the country.

The loans are both guaranteed by the Philippine government.

The Landbank loan will mature in 30 years, and the DBP loan in 40 years. The loans are inclusive of a 10-year grace period, and they both carry interest rates of 0.01%, 0.65%, and 1.4% per annum depending on the end-users/loan category.