AGRICULTURAL LOANS covered by the Philippine Guarantee Corp. (Philguarantee) rose 42.96% in the first six months, driven by increased lending activity by partner lending institutions (PLIs) supporting small farmers and fisherfolk (SFFs). In its Agricultural Guarantee Fund Pool status report, the state-run corporation said year to date total guaranteed loans hit P3.34 billion at the end of June, up from P2.34 billion a year earlier, it said in a statement. Commercial, thrift, and rural bank loans received guarantees which were up 50.63% from a year earlier at P3.09 billion. Partner cooperative loans receiving guarantees rose 23.83% to P176.99 million. Meanwhile, it said outstanding guaranteed loans stood at P2.28 billion at the end of June, up 48.12%, covering 22,148 accounts.