New Quedancor chief shifts focus to small farmers

As the Quedan Rural Credit and Guarantee Corp. celebrated its 23rd anniversary last Easter Monday, a leadership turnover from outgoing president Elmer Garcia Mendoza to its most senior officer, Nelson Buenaflor, made the occasion more meaningful and marked a change in focus in Quedancor – from big ticket accounts to small ticket accounts.

Buenaflor also announced a livelihood and nutrition thrust of the corporation to the marginalized sector through the countryside root crop project, which it will launch very soon.

The company will also involve itself in "financial buttressing" that will mainly involve P5 billion from the China Agri-Machineries project; P1 billion from the Copra Social Fund (that will come from the coconut levy funds being held in escrow); the P100 million from the capital call from DA through the assistance of Undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante; P58 million from the Agriculture and Fisheries Credit Guarantee Fund (or the pooled but unused funds of the agriculture sector currently being held by the different government guarantee institutions); P278 million from the Integrated Rural Financing and DA self help group and P538 million from the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Program.

In addition, the company is banking on the budgetary support promised by the Department of Budget and Management.

To provide its operations more liquidity, the company is also going to fasttrack the recovery of receivables of about P300 million of the P750-million total receivables from previous years’ operations.

Buenaflor also committed to provide the credit and guarantee needs of 10 corn feedstock service centers in the country, a pet project of Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Montemayor, as its direct contribution – with the help of the National Agribusiness Development Center (NADC). This project is envisioned to increase productivity and the farmers’ income since the center is designed to produce both the food and feed grade corn.

With the anticipated phase-out next year of the direct credit programs (DCPs) of the Department of Agriculture, as mandated by the AFMA, the company will also work for the exemption of Quedancor from this provision.

Buenaflor said he would insist on strengthening the legal leg of Quedancor in pursuing its mandated function even with the effective phase out of DCPs as provided by AFMA "since credit delivery is a function inherent in the corporate nature and function of Quedancor, as spelled out by its charter, Republic Act 7393."

Buenaflor said he would work for the strengthening of Quedancor’s field operations and specifically its presence in the coconut sector.

Buenaflor was appointed by the governing board as the president and chief executive officer of Quedancor because of his 27 years of dedicated service and distinguished career record.

He finished economics at San Sebastian College and holds post graduate academic achievements in; business administration (masteral degree obtained at the Philippine Christian University); economics (from Polytechnic University of the Philippines); and a special post graduate course at the Center for Research and Communications.