Short answer. Yes. Article 2138 lets the parties stipulate that the fruits of the property in an antichresis compensate the interest on the debt. But there is a ceiling: if the fruits are worth more than the interest allowed by the laws against usury, the excess must be applied to the principal, not kept by the creditor.
What the law says
The contracting parties may stipulate that the interest upon the debt be compensated with the fruits of the property which is the object of the antichresis, provided that if the value of the fruits should exceed the amount of interest allowed by the laws against usury, the excess shall be applied to the principal.
Civil Code, Article 2138 — Interest Compensated by Fruits. Read the full provision →
Fruits offsetting interest is allowed
Antichresis works by giving the creditor the fruits of the immovable, and the parties are free to arrange how those fruits are counted. Article 2138 confirms the specific stipulation you have in mind: The contracting parties may stipulate that the interest upon the debt be compensated with the fruits of the property which is the object of the antichresis. Instead of computing interest separately and accounting for fruits separately, the parties may agree that the fruits simply stand in for the interest. It is a legitimate and common way to structure the arrangement, and the Code expressly permits it.
The excess must reduce the principal
The permission comes with a guard against abuse. The article continues: provided that if the value of the fruits should exceed the amount of interest allowed by the laws against usury, the excess shall be applied to the principal. The creditor cannot treat a bumper harvest as extra profit. Once the value of the fruits passes what may lawfully be charged as interest, the surplus is credited toward the debt itself, steadily reducing what the debtor owes. This stops the fruits-for-interest arrangement from becoming a disguised route to an unlawful return on the loan.
What "interest allowed by law" means today
The article assumes a working ceiling on interest, but the statutory usury ceilings have long been suspended in this country, so there is no fixed maximum rate to read off a table. That does not empty the safeguard. The courts today police interest that is unconscionable or excessive and will strike it down or reduce it. Read in that light, Article 2138's rule still bites: fruits worth more than a reasonable, enforceable rate of interest cannot be pocketed by the creditor as interest, and the excess belongs against the principal. The debtor's protection survives the change in the usury regime.
Keep the accounting honest
If you adopt this arrangement, put it in writing and treat the valuation of the fruits as a running account rather than a set-and-forget clause. Record what the property yields each period and what it is worth, so the interest actually compensated can be measured and any surplus identified. Where the fruits outstrip a lawful and reasonable interest, insist that the excess be posted to the principal, because that is where the Code places it. Careful records of fruits collected and their value are what let a debtor prove the debt has been shrinking as it should.