Ahmon and Leo (featured in the photo) are officers of Negros Organic Rice Industry Association, Inc. (NORIA), an association of organic rice farmers located on the island of Negros, Philippines. It is an SEC (Securities Exchange Commission) registered association with over 300 organic rice farmers from various parts of the island on its membership roster.
The majority of members have small landholdings – all below 4 hectares in size. Many have about a hectare, which they acquired from the government as Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries.
With no economies of scale, it would have been practical for them to follow conventional methods using chemical fertilizers paired with a good dose of pesticides to boost their production. But in spite of the obvious hurdles organic farming entails, these small farmers made a conscious choice to convert their land into organic rice farms because they believe that going back to nature will ensure a healthier lifestyle for themselves, their families and communities.
Many of these organic practitioners also believe that this is the way to ensure food security of the island. They also believe that moving away from chemical fertilizers and pesticides protects the environment and encourages the biodiversity of the island.
To ensure that the members benefit from the premium going organic provides, NORIA, led by its President, Ahmon, and Leo, head of the association’s Business Management Committee, is borrowing PHP 1,000,000.00 from NWTF. The group intends to use the money as a revolving credit line to purchase the organic rice harvest of its members. This ensures a fair price at the farm gate.
By consolidating the harvest and milling the rice themselves, NORIA is protecting the integrity and provenance of the organic rice, and this will enable it to market the certified organic rice at a premium. At the moment this certified organic rice is sold at the Negros Occidental Organic Market, but will soon be available in supermarkets in Negros and the neighboring islands.
At present, the association has about 300 hectares of certified organic rice farms, but with the boost in their buying capacity, they are hoping to be able to encourage more farmers to go organic and increase their land area up to 1,000 hectares by the end of the year.
NORIA has 3 main objectives: first, to strengthen the organic rice farming industry in Negros by providing training in the best organic farming practices, second – to strengthen economic development and sustainability of organic rice farmers through private-public partnerships; and third, to ensure that the price of organic rice is stable and fair at the farm gate.
NORIA is working hard to achieve Negros Island's vision of becoming the Organic Food Bowl of the Philippines.
Funded
Negros Organic Rice Industry Association, Inc.
A loan helped to purchase the organic rice harvest of the association's members at a fair price.
Negros Organic Rice Industry Association, Inc.'s story
More about this loan
About Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation (NWTF):
Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation (NWTF) is a non-governmental organization established with the aim to help women achieve self-sufficiency, particularly in the province of Negros Occidental's low-income communities. The organization offers its clients a wide variety of products, including loans for micro-entrepreneurs, hospital income benefits, life insurance, accidental death benefits and more. Kiva lenders' funds will be used to expand the reach of these products to low-income urban and rural communities.
Loan details
Loan length:
Repayment schedule
Monthly: One repayment made per month
End of term: One repayment made at the end of the loan term
Irregular: Any other repayment schedule
To see a detailed repayment schedule for a specific loan, click the "Repayment schedule" link on the loan profile under "Loan details."
What is the disbursed date?
In the case of partner loans, many of our Lending Partners choose to disburse loan funds before the loan request is posted on Kiva. We allow pre-disbursal because it ensures that the funds reach the borrower as soon as they are needed. Loan funds from Kiva lenders then go to backfill that amount and as a lender you assume the risk of the loan. By doing this, our Lending Partners assume the risk that, if the loan isn't funded by lenders, they will have to fund the loan without any funds from Kiva.
If a partner loan is not pre-disbursed, it will be listed on Kiva with an expected "post-disbursed" date. If a post-disbursed loan is not funded on Kiva, there is a chance that the borrower may not receive their loan. Some Lending Partners choose to disburse loans with other sources of funding, while other partners don't have the resources available to fund loans without Kiva lenders' support. No direct loans will be disbursed unless they fully fundraise on Kiva.
Funding model
What does "Partner covers currency loss" mean & how could it affect my Kiva loans?
Potential for currency exchange loss is noted on every loan profile under the loan details:
"Yes" means the Lending Partner will cover any currency loss. Lenders will not bear losses due to currency fluctuation
"Partial" means that the Lending Partner has opted to cover losses only up to 10%. If the U.S. dollar appreciates more than 10% against the local currency, those losses will be passed onto lenders.
"No" means that the Lending Partner is not covering any currency losses and all losses will be passed onto lenders.
"N/A" means the Lending Partner disburses loans to borrowers in USD so their loans are not subject to any currency fluctuation.
Do Kiva borrowers pay any interest on their loans?
Our partners collect interest from borrowers because there are many operational expenses associated with microfinance in developing markets, especially in rural areas. Many of Kiva's Lending Partners also provide additional services alongside their loan products such as business training, financial literacy lessons, or health services.
Kiva will not partner with an organization that charges unreasonable interest rates, and we require Lending Partners to fully disclose their rates. In addition, we only partner with microfinance institutions and organizations that have a social mission to serve the poor, unbanked, and underserved.
There are some 0% interest loans on Kiva, including all direct loans in the United States. To learn more about the interest rates Kiva borrowers pay, you can review the "Average cost to borrower" field on a loan profile.
We also encourage you to read the following articles if you are interested in further educating yourself on the topic: Microfinance 101 (https://www.kiva.org/microfinance), Top 10 things to know about microfinance (https://www.kiva.org/blog/top-10-things-to-know-about-microfinance), Microfinance interest rates explained (https://www.kiva.org/blog/whats-up-with-microfinance-interest-rates)
What is a risk rating?
The Lending Partner risk rating reflects the risk of institutional default associated with each of Kiva’s Lending Partners. A 0.5-star rating means the organization has a relatively higher risk of institutional default, while a 5-star rating indicates the organization is at a relatively lower risk of default, based on Kiva's analysis and the available information displayed in the Lending Partner section of every loan. Lending Partners with the lowest credit tier undergo a lighter level of due diligence and do not receive a risk rating; instead, in places where a risk rating would normally appear, these partners are labeled as “Experimental.” For more information, see "What is an Experimental Lending Partner?"
Direct loans also do not receive a formal risk rating. Instead, these loans are approved through “social underwriting”, where trustworthiness is determined by friends & family lending a portion of the loan request, or by a Kiva approved Trustee vouching for the borrower. Direct loans will appear as "Unrated" and lenders should always assume these loans represent the highest level of repayment risk on Kiva.
How are loans facilitated?
Kiva loans are facilitated through 2 models, partner and direct, that enable us to reach the greatest number of people around the world.
For partner loans, borrowers apply to a local Lending Partner, which manages the loan on the ground. Lending Partners are responsible for screening borrowers, disbursing loans, posting borrowers to the Kiva website for funding, collecting repayments and otherwise administering Kiva loans on the ground to borrowers.
For direct loans, borrowers apply through the Kiva website and may or may not be endorsed by a Trustee. Unlike Lending Partners, Trustees don't handle any financial transactions or have any duty to repay loans on behalf of their borrowers. Instead, Trustees take the role of providing support and business advice to their borrowers throughout the term of the loan.
More information about successive and concurrent loans
Most borrowers take out loans consecutively, meaning that they receive a second loan after having repaid the first. However, sometimes our Lending Partners give out concurrent loans, allowing borrowers to take out one primary loan and a secondary "add-on" loan along with it. These additional loans are typically smaller than the borrower's primary loan and serve a different purpose. We trust our partners to determine whether a borrower has the means to be able to repay a successive or concurrent loan.
Lenders and lending teams
Country: Philippines
Lending Partner: Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation (NWTF)
Average cost to borrower (PY)
What does "Profitability (Return on Assets)" mean?
Average loan size (% of per capita income)
A Lending Partner's average loan size is expressed as a percentage of the country's gross national annual income per capita. Loans that are smaller (that is, as a lower percentage of gross national income per capita) are generally made to more economically disadvantaged populations. However, these same loans are generally more costly for the Lending Partner to originate, disburse and collect.
Partner delinquency (arrears) rate
How this is calculated: delinquency (arrears) rate = $ value of payments past due of delinquent paying back loans / outstanding $ value of all paying back loans
Loans at risk rate
Lending Partner's default rate
How this is calculated: default rate = amount of ended loans defaulted / amount of ended loans
Notes:
- Many Lending Partners do not yet have many ended loans due to their short history on Kiva (see "Time on Kiva"). If this is the case, a more meaningful indicator of principal risk is "delinquency rate."
- At Kiva, we define default (non-repayment) as: the time when Kiva determines that collection of funds from a borrower or partner is doubtful, or the cumulative amount repaid as of a quarterly reconciliation is less than the amount expected as of 360 days prior and there have been no repayments reported to Kiva during this time.
Kiva typically processes defaults on a semiannual basis, and case by case exceptions may be made if the partner or Kiva anticipates future repayments to be made on the loan. Lending Partners also have the option to default loans at any time, should they determine that further collection of loan repayments from the borrower is unlikely.
What's a Lending Partner?
Our Lending Partners are nonprofit organizations, microfinance institutions, schools, and social enterprises. Many provide services alongside their loans, such as entrepreneurial training or finanical literacy development. Our partners all share one thing in common: a desire to improve people's lives through access to safe and affordable credit. You can see a list of Kiva Lending Partners here: kiva.org/partners
Tags
Loan tags help lenders find loans that match certain areas of interest.
Loan details
Loan length:
Repayment schedule
Monthly: One repayment made per month
End of term: One repayment made at the end of the loan term
Irregular: Any other repayment schedule
To see a detailed repayment schedule for a specific loan, click the "Repayment schedule" link on the loan profile under "Loan details."
What is the disbursed date?
In the case of partner loans, many of our Lending Partners choose to disburse loan funds before the loan request is posted on Kiva. We allow pre-disbursal because it ensures that the funds reach the borrower as soon as they are needed. Loan funds from Kiva lenders then go to backfill that amount and as a lender you assume the risk of the loan. By doing this, our Lending Partners assume the risk that, if the loan isn't funded by lenders, they will have to fund the loan without any funds from Kiva.
If a partner loan is not pre-disbursed, it will be listed on Kiva with an expected "post-disbursed" date. If a post-disbursed loan is not funded on Kiva, there is a chance that the borrower may not receive their loan. Some Lending Partners choose to disburse loans with other sources of funding, while other partners don't have the resources available to fund loans without Kiva lenders' support. No direct loans will be disbursed unless they fully fundraise on Kiva.
Funding model
What does "Partner covers currency loss" mean & how could it affect my Kiva loans?
Potential for currency exchange loss is noted on every loan profile under the loan details:
"Yes" means the Lending Partner will cover any currency loss. Lenders will not bear losses due to currency fluctuation
"Partial" means that the Lending Partner has opted to cover losses only up to 10%. If the U.S. dollar appreciates more than 10% against the local currency, those losses will be passed onto lenders.
"No" means that the Lending Partner is not covering any currency losses and all losses will be passed onto lenders.
"N/A" means the Lending Partner disburses loans to borrowers in USD so their loans are not subject to any currency fluctuation.
Do Kiva borrowers pay any interest on their loans?
Our partners collect interest from borrowers because there are many operational expenses associated with microfinance in developing markets, especially in rural areas. Many of Kiva's Lending Partners also provide additional services alongside their loan products such as business training, financial literacy lessons, or health services.
Kiva will not partner with an organization that charges unreasonable interest rates, and we require Lending Partners to fully disclose their rates. In addition, we only partner with microfinance institutions and organizations that have a social mission to serve the poor, unbanked, and underserved.
There are some 0% interest loans on Kiva, including all direct loans in the United States. To learn more about the interest rates Kiva borrowers pay, you can review the "Average cost to borrower" field on a loan profile.
We also encourage you to read the following articles if you are interested in further educating yourself on the topic: Microfinance 101 (https://www.kiva.org/microfinance), Top 10 things to know about microfinance (https://www.kiva.org/blog/top-10-things-to-know-about-microfinance), Microfinance interest rates explained (https://www.kiva.org/blog/whats-up-with-microfinance-interest-rates)
What is a risk rating?
The Lending Partner risk rating reflects the risk of institutional default associated with each of Kiva’s Lending Partners. A 0.5-star rating means the organization has a relatively higher risk of institutional default, while a 5-star rating indicates the organization is at a relatively lower risk of default, based on Kiva's analysis and the available information displayed in the Lending Partner section of every loan. Lending Partners with the lowest credit tier undergo a lighter level of due diligence and do not receive a risk rating; instead, in places where a risk rating would normally appear, these partners are labeled as “Experimental.” For more information, see "What is an Experimental Lending Partner?"
Direct loans also do not receive a formal risk rating. Instead, these loans are approved through “social underwriting”, where trustworthiness is determined by friends & family lending a portion of the loan request, or by a Kiva approved Trustee vouching for the borrower. Direct loans will appear as "Unrated" and lenders should always assume these loans represent the highest level of repayment risk on Kiva.
How are loans facilitated?
Kiva loans are facilitated through 2 models, partner and direct, that enable us to reach the greatest number of people around the world.
For partner loans, borrowers apply to a local Lending Partner, which manages the loan on the ground. Lending Partners are responsible for screening borrowers, disbursing loans, posting borrowers to the Kiva website for funding, collecting repayments and otherwise administering Kiva loans on the ground to borrowers.
For direct loans, borrowers apply through the Kiva website and may or may not be endorsed by a Trustee. Unlike Lending Partners, Trustees don't handle any financial transactions or have any duty to repay loans on behalf of their borrowers. Instead, Trustees take the role of providing support and business advice to their borrowers throughout the term of the loan.
More information about successive and concurrent loans
Most borrowers take out loans consecutively, meaning that they receive a second loan after having repaid the first. However, sometimes our Lending Partners give out concurrent loans, allowing borrowers to take out one primary loan and a secondary "add-on" loan along with it. These additional loans are typically smaller than the borrower's primary loan and serve a different purpose. We trust our partners to determine whether a borrower has the means to be able to repay a successive or concurrent loan.
Lending Partner: Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation (NWTF)
Average cost to borrower (PY)
What does "Profitability (Return on Assets)" mean?
Average loan size (% of per capita income)
A Lending Partner's average loan size is expressed as a percentage of the country's gross national annual income per capita. Loans that are smaller (that is, as a lower percentage of gross national income per capita) are generally made to more economically disadvantaged populations. However, these same loans are generally more costly for the Lending Partner to originate, disburse and collect.
Partner delinquency (arrears) rate
How this is calculated: delinquency (arrears) rate = $ value of payments past due of delinquent paying back loans / outstanding $ value of all paying back loans
Loans at risk rate
Lending Partner's default rate
How this is calculated: default rate = amount of ended loans defaulted / amount of ended loans
Notes:
- Many Lending Partners do not yet have many ended loans due to their short history on Kiva (see "Time on Kiva"). If this is the case, a more meaningful indicator of principal risk is "delinquency rate."
- At Kiva, we define default (non-repayment) as: the time when Kiva determines that collection of funds from a borrower or partner is doubtful, or the cumulative amount repaid as of a quarterly reconciliation is less than the amount expected as of 360 days prior and there have been no repayments reported to Kiva during this time.
Kiva typically processes defaults on a semiannual basis, and case by case exceptions may be made if the partner or Kiva anticipates future repayments to be made on the loan. Lending Partners also have the option to default loans at any time, should they determine that further collection of loan repayments from the borrower is unlikely.
What's a Lending Partner?
Our Lending Partners are nonprofit organizations, microfinance institutions, schools, and social enterprises. Many provide services alongside their loans, such as entrepreneurial training or finanical literacy development. Our partners all share one thing in common: a desire to improve people's lives through access to safe and affordable credit. You can see a list of Kiva Lending Partners here: kiva.org/partners
You are opting out of using Free Trial.
You have selected to not use your Free Trial and will be prompted to pay for this loan using your own money.
Agree Use a Free TrialShoot! This loan is ineligible.
Your free credit can't be applied to this loan. If you would like to make a loan to this borrower anyway, you will have to use your own money.
Lend Anyway Find an Eligible LoanYou cannot use your Free Trial to support this loan.
Free Trials cannot be used to make loans during their private fundraising period on Kiva. If you would like to lend to this borrower anyway, you will have to use your own money.
Agree Find an Eligible Loan