The Rotary Balita no. 748 (June 24, 1954)

Arsenio J. Jison, Philippine National Bank president, told the Manila Rotary Club on June 17 that the role of the PNB in the development of the country's economy should be to provide short-term financial requirements in agriculture. He pointed out that the PNB is willing to finance rice-growers' immediate short-term credit needs. He stressed the need for orderly rice marketing through cooperatives or similar associations, with definite standards similar to that for the sugar industry. The industry, he further stressed, should have protected or bonded warehouses. Jison said that he had called a conference among the chamber of commerce, the ACCFA, the PNB. and the NARIC to explore the credit bases in the rice industry with a view of increasing rice production. The conference, he said, resulted in defining closely the field of activity of each agency. The ACCFA would devote itself to the financing of small rice producers through cooperatives with ACCFA funds and the operation of cooperative warehouses. The NARIC would confine itself to the purchase and sale of palay for stabilization purposes and the operation of warehouses where there are no cooperatives. The PNB, in turn, would finance the field not covered by the ACCFA. Jison urged rice producers to cooperate with each other in stopping the practices which have led to the discredit of bases for credit. He urged them to observe new practices conducive to an atmosphere for the attraction of capital.