Agrilever harnesses digital tech for farmers’ financing (2025)

MANILA, Philippines — Agritech startup firm Agrilever wants to help more rice farmers gain access to financing to boost their income and productivity.

In an email correspondence with the Inquirer, Agrilever said the current target areas are top producing regions in the Philippines such as Central Luzon and Cagayan Valley.

“Agrilever targets all rice farmers within the Philippines, and our monthly focus shifts depending on the harvest season,” Agrilever CEO Ruel Amparo said.

“For now, our initiatives solely focus on rice farmers, as that’s what our technology currently supports,” Amparo said.

The company plans to bridge the gap between farmers and financial institutions to support them with technological resources and farming essentials.

In this arrangement, Agrilever serves as an intermediary to manage the relationship between banks or credit providers and rice farmers.

So that farmers can pay their loans

“It helps ensure that farmers can pay their loans by providing them with the technology, on-the-ground help, and fertilizers that they need to have a more productive harvest,” Amparo said.

READ: Making PH agriculture smart

To date, loans have been provided to farmers in several areas. There cover over 10,000 borrowers in Cagayan, Isabela, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Agusan del Sur and South Cotabato.

“We hope to reach rice farmers nationwide and provide them with the financial tools, fertilizers and weather analytics they need to navigate climate challenges and boost their yields,” Amparo said.

The group has partnered with banks and government-run institutions to achieve its target. These include the Agricultural Credit Policy Council under the Department of Agriculture and New Rural Bank of San Leonardo in Nueva Ecija.

Last year, Agrilever worked with BPI Direct BanKo Inc., the microfinance arm of the Bank of the Philippine Islands. They launched the Agri NegosyoKo Loan Program aimed at helping farmers strengthen their agricultural practices and improve their livelihoods.

“We are continuing to expand to more rural banks and government institutions, but we can’t name them at this time,” Amparo said.

Citing data from the World Bank, Agrilever said two out of three Filipino farmers are uninsured.

The startup said the agricultural sector received only 2.6 percent of the country’s total loans outstanding in the banking sector in 2022.

Farming with a mobile app

It also launched a platform designed to provide crop management protocols and advanced weather intelligence to farmers.

“This technology-based information is vital to allow them to mitigate the effects of extreme weather events and rising temperatures on their crops,” Ampara said.

“The app allowed them to gain insights into seasonal growing protocols, which are tailored by agronomists to the farmers and their farm fields,” he added.

Through this app, farmers will receive an alert on when to apply fertilizers or perform the second harrowing.