THE chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food is seeking a further extension of the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (Acef) law from 2015 to 2022 to further boost the gains of the country in terms of agricultural productivity and higher levels of competitiveness.
Rep. Mark Llandro said his proposal seeks to extend the law until 2022 wherein the available Acef funds will be used primarily or provide assistance to qualified beneficiaries while earmarking 10 percent for the funding of a comprehensive scholarship program for agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary medicine education.
“The extension of the Acef law will further boost the improvements we have gained,” said Mendoza.
Mendoza said on March 28, 1996, Republic Act No. 8178, otherwise known as “An Act Replacing Quantitative Import Restrictions On Agricultural Products, Except Rice, With Tariffs, Creating The Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, And For Other Purposes,” was enacted into law. It aimed, among others, to maximize the country’s gain from the policy of trade liberalization and minimize adjustment cost in the shift toward a liberalized trade regime, to raise agricultural productivity and enable the agricultural sector to be more competitive.
The Fund consists of all duties collected from the importation of agricultural products under the minimum access volume (MAV) mechanism, including unused balances and collections form repayments from loan beneficiaries including interests, if any.
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