DA set to resume ACEF lending

Manila, Philippines -  The Department of Agriculture, through the Agricultural Competitiveness Ehancement Fund (ACEF), will resume extending loans as soon as the transfer of funds to Government Financing Institutions (GFIs) has been processed. 

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said loans worth P281 million would be initially extended to 16 new approved accounts. This amount is part of the P1.9 billion ACEF fund that is allotted for grants (60 percent), loans (30 percent) and scholarships (10 percent.)

The fund –which was created out of the proceeds of in-quota Minimum Access Volume (MAV) tariffs –is intended as a credit line for projects that promote agriculture productivity and efficiency.

Alcala said this was decided during a special en banc meeting of the Congressional Oversight Committee on Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization (COCAFM) chaired by Senator Francis Pangilinan on Aug. 16, 2012 at the Club Filipino in San Juan.

“ACEF will start processing requests for grants and scholarships on September 1,” Alcala said.

 A moratorium for the release of ACEF loans was implemented in 2009 after the Commission on Audit (COA) noticed the slow repayment of loans.  

Alcala said the COCAFM, along with the DA and Department of Budget and Management, has crafted revised guidelines for a more efficient fund utilization of the fund.

A memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the DA, DBM and Department of Finance stating the roles of each agency in the collection and determining the available funds for the ACEF will be signed before the end of this month.

It was stated in the MOA that the collected earnings from MAV imports would go straight to the ACEF instead of being remitted to the general fund of the national budget as what was done between 2007 to 2012.