STATE-OWNED Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has granted a P500-million funding support to various farmer cooperatives in Albay in an effort to advance sustainable and efficient farming practices in the province.

DBP President and Chief Executive Officer Michael de Jesus said the amount will finance the Digital Rice Clustered Farming (DCRF) project, which combines advanced automation, precision farming techniques and data analytics to optimize resource utilization and increase small farmers' annual yield by up to 30 percent.