In the Philippines, the agriculture sector accounts for 20% of our Gross Domestic Product, employs around 40 percent of our country's labor force, and provides most of the food requirements of our total population of 86 million. Given its importance, policies and programs continue to be crafted and implemented to support and transform our agriculture sector into a modern, productive, efficient, and competitive sector.
In 1975 for instance, Presidential Decree 717 was issued to ensure the flow of credit to the agriculture sector. In particular, it mandated banks to set aside 25% of their loanable funds for agricultural agrarian reform credit. For a number of years, bank compliance to this law exceeded 25% of their loan portfolio.