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contains the full text ofRepublic
Act No. 7900AN ACT TO PROMOTE
THE
PRODUCTION, PROCESSING, MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTIONOF HIGH-VALUED
CROPS,
PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
REPUBLIC
ACT NO. 7900
AN ACT
TO PROMOTE THE
PRODUCTION,PROCESSING,
MARKETING
AND DISTRIBUTIONOF
HIGH-VALUED CROPS,
PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
Section 1. Title.
— This Act shall be known as the "High-Value Crops Development Act
of
1995."
Sec. 2. Declaration of
Policy. — It is hereby declared the policy of the State to
accelerate
the growth and development of agriculture in general, enhance
productivity
and incomes of farmers and the rural population, improve investment
climate,
competencies and efficiency of agribusiness and develop high-value
crops
as export crops that will significantly augment the foreign exchange
earnings
of the country, through an all-out promotion of the production,
processing,
marketing, and distribution of high-value crops in suitable areas of
the
country.
The State shall be guided
by the principles that land has a social function and land ownership
has
a social responsibility. As such, owners and lessees of agricultural
land,
being stewards, have the obligation to cultivate the lands they own or
lease and make the land economically productive on a sustainable and
environmentally
friendly manner. The State has the right to expropriate lands not
utilized
for the benefit of the community and the country as a whole.
The State shall effect an
efficient use of land and other productive resources with due regard to
ecological balance and environmental protection, rural development,
equity
consideration, mobilization of human resources, and increased
agro-industrial
production for the alleviation of poverty and sustainable growth
objectives.
Sec. 3. Scope of Application.
— This Act shall cover upland dwellers as well as lowland tenants,
indigenous
and cultural communities, Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP)
beneficiaries, upland farm owners, farmers, farmers'
rganizations/associations/cooperatives,
community associations and farmworkers, and to the extent herein
provided,
the departments, offices, agencies, subdivisions, branches or
instrumentalities
in the areas identified by the Department of Agriculture as key
commercial
crop production areas.
Sec. 4. Definition of
Terms. — For purposes of this Act, the term:
a.
"Non-traditional
crops" — refer to crops other than rice, corn, coconut and sugar.
b.
"High-value
crops
(HVC)" — these are crops other than traditional crops which include,
but
are not limited to: coffee and cacao, fruit crops (citrus, cashew,
guyabano,
papaya, mango, pineapple, strawberry, jackfruit, rambutan, durian,
mangosteen,
guava, lanzones, and watermelon), root crops (potato and ubi),
vegetable
crops (asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, celery, carrots, cauliflower,
radish,
tomato, bell pepper, and patola), legumes, pole sitao (snap beans and
garden
pea), spices and condiments (black pepper, garlic, ginger, and onion),
and cutflower and ornamental foliage plants (chrysanthemum, gladiolus,
anthuriums, orchids, and statice).
c. "Idle and
abandoned
land" — refers to any agricultural land not cultivated, titled or
developed
to produce any crop nor devoted to any specific economic purpose
continuously
for a period of three (3) years immediately prior to the receipt of
notice
of acquisition by the government as provided under the CARP.
d. "Alienable
and
disposable lands" — refer to those lands of the public domain which
have
been the subject of the present system of classification and declared
as
not needed for forest purposes.
e. "Forest
land"
—refers
to the lands of the public domain which have not been declared as
alienable
or disposable, public forests, permanent forests or forest reserves,
forest
reservations, timberlands, grazing lands, game refuge, and bird
sanctuaries.
Sec. 5. Site Identification. — The
Department of
Agrarian Reform and the Department of
Agriculture,
in coordination with the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources,
and the municipal government concerned, shall identify the broad areas
suitable for high-valued crops production, within six (6) months after
the effectivity of this Act: Provided, That such site identification
shall
be reviewed at appropriate intervals to ensure consistency with the
agrarian
reform program and the national land use policy.
Sec. 6. Tenurial Arrangement.
— Farmer cooperatives may lease the land for a period of twenty-five
(25)
years, and not to exceed one thousand hectares (1,000 has.) in area.
Sec. 7. Farm Model.
— For the program, farmers may adopt the cooperative system in putting
up economically-sized farms for high-value crop farming. Farmer members
shall collectively manage individual farms which includes contracting
process
and means of production; planning and coordinating crops varieties; and
raising breed, hectarage, distribution and some production measures
with
reference to the market it shall serve. Said farm models may be
replicated
by farmers' organizations all over the country.
Sec. 8. High-Value Crops
Development Fund (HVCDF). — For the purpose of providing the
funding
requirements of the production, marketing, and processing of high-value
crops, and the establishment of low-cost credit to qualified project
proponents,
there is hereby created a High-Value Crops Development Fund (HVCDF),
with
an initial amount of One billion pesos (P1,000,000,000). The HVCDF
shall
be sourced from the Comprehensive Agricultural Loan Fund (CALF) and
shall
be managed by the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) and the
Development
Bank of the Philippines (DBP). Other sources of funds, including but
not
limited to borrowings from local and international financial
institutions,
shall also be considered to further support the program: Provided, That
sixty percent (60%) of the HVCDF shall be utilized for direct lending
to
high-value crop producers while the remaining forty percent (40%) shall
be allocated by the Department of Agriculture to guarantee loans
granted
by private financial institutions toward high-value crop production
through
existing guarantee institutions. The Department of Agriculture, which
is
directly responsible for the management of the HVCDF, is hereby
authorized
to designate the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank
of the Philippines to manage the direct lending operations of the sixty
percent (60%) portion of the HVCDF through LBP and DBP facilities or
their
conduits.
All financial institutions,
whether public or private, shall be tapped to support the program.
Participating
banks are hereby exempted from the compliance requirement of
Presidential
Decree No. 717: Provided, That they shall lend a minimum of
five
percent (5%) of their loanable funds without alternative compliance
directly
to farmers' associations or cooperatives.
Other sources of funds, including
but not limited to borrowings from local and international financial
institutions,
shall also be considered to further support the program.
Sec. 9. Incentives. —
The proponents of the program shall be entitled to the following
incentives:
a.
Crop
insurance
— the insurance program of the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation
(PCIC)
shall be expanded to cover high-value crops. The premium rates shall be
set not on the basis of the performance of previous programs
specifically
on rice and corn;
b. Credit
assistance
— the HVCDF shall be loaned out to farmers' organizations/
associations/cooperatives
composed of, but not limited to, CARP beneficiaries, subject to the
prevailing
Land Bank interest rates;
c. Credit
Guarantee
— to enhance the bankability of projects, a credit guarantee cover
shall
be extended by the Quedan and Rural Credit Guarantee Corporation
(QUEDANCOR)
which shall thereby be provided with a commensurate guarantee fund, in
the form of equity, out of the HVCDF;
d. Grace
period
on
lease of government lands payments — project proponents shall effect
payment
on the lease not earlier than two (2) years after the lease agreement
is
signed and approved. The grace period shall be determined by the
gestation
periods of the crops;
e. Tax
exemption
—
project proponents as defined in Section 7 of this Act shall be
entitled
to the following tax exemptions:
1.
Exemptions
from
taxes and duties subject to the provisions of Article 62 of Republic
Act
No. 6938 or the Cooperative Code of the Philippines;
2.
Exemption
from
the value-added tax in accordance with Section 103 of the National
Internal
Revenue Code, as amended; and
3.
Exemption
from
taxes, fees and charges under Title One of Book Two of the Local
Government
Code of 1991 in accordance with Section 133(n) of the said Code.
f.
Market
linkage — the
Department of Agriculture, in coordination with the Department of Trade
and Industry, shall link-up agribusiness cooperatives directly with
consumers
cooperatives, agro-processing companies, or exporters to provide
marketing
outlets and assure relatively higher and stable prices. Agro-processing
firms buying directly from project proponents shall be granted tax
rebates.
To ensure
health
and proper
trading, the agribusiness development group of the Department of
Agriculture
shall establish and enforce standards in grading, sampling and
inspection,
tests and analysis, specifications, nomenclature, units of measurement,
code of practice and packaging, preservation, conservation and
transportation
of high-value crops.
g. Technical
and
infrastructure
support — technical support on research and extension, infrastructure
development,
financial and market information shall be provided by the Department of
Agriculture, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Science
and
Technology, Cooperative Development Authority, state universities and
colleges
and other relevant government agencies;
h. Post
harvest
facilities
— access to post harvest facilities, storage and distribution/transport
facilities of existing government agencies shall be facilitated.
Assistance
shall be given to qualified and viable farmers/growers cooperatives in
the availment of soft loans or grants for the construction of
post-harvest,
processing and storage facilities. Guidelines for the eventual transfer
of ownership of these facilities to the proponent shall be formulated
by
the Department of Agriculture;
i. Good seeds
and
planting materials — the Department of Agriculture, in coordination
with
the state universities and colleges, the Department of Trade and
Industry,
and farmers organizations shall make good seeds and materials readily
available
to farmers/farmers' cooperatives to ensure high yield and good quality
produce. However, the project proponents may be allowed to import, free
of duties, high quality seeds/planting materials subject to quarantine
laws and Section 15 of Republic Act No. 7083 or the Seed Industry
Development
Act of 1992; and
j. Fiscal
incentives
— the same fiscal incentives granted by the Board of Investments shall
be automatically granted to project proponents.
Sec. 10. Inter-Agency Committee.
— A committee, composed of representatives from the Department of
Agriculture,
the Department of Agrarian Reform, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the
Land Bank of the Philippines, the Development Bank of the Philippines,
the Cooperative Development Authority, the Department of Science and
Technology,
the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources, and the Department of the Interior and Local
Government
and one (1) each from the small farmers and commercial producers
sectors
to be designated by the Secretary of Agriculture, shall formulate and
prescribe,
after public hearing and publication as required by law, the
implementing
rules and regulations in order to carry out the provisions of this Act.
The representatives from the Department of Agriculture and the
Department
of Trade and Industry shall be the chairman and the vice-chairman,
respectively,
of the committee.
The Secretary of the Department
of Agriculture shall report to both Houses of Congress on the status of
the High-Value Crops Development Program biannually.
Sec. 11. Agribusiness
Development Group. — The agribusiness development group of the
Department
of Agriculture shall be strengthened to implement, coordinate and
monitor
the program based on the rules and regulations setforth by the
inter-agency
committee. Aside from its usual functions, it shall be tasked to
perform
the following functions:
a.
Assist in the
formulation
of general and specific policies for the development of high-value
crops;
b. Set up the
appropriate
system to monitor the utilization of the HVCDF and shall furnish the
Bangko
Sentral ng Pilipinas regular reports on the financial institutions'
compliance
to the program;
c. Extend
assistance
in marketing and distribution of high-value crops through monitoring
and
dissemination of market information, including identification of the
local
supply-demand situation, domestic market matching and overseas market
intelligence
and promotion activities on high-value crops;
d. Enjoin the
Department
of Transportation and Communications to effect a more efficient,
regular,
adequate, suitable, and economical means of transporting and/or
shipping
of high-value crops, for purposes of reducing marketing costs and
ensuring
stable consumer supply;
e. Encourage
the
establishment
of wholesale markets in identified major centers of the country:
Provided,
That agricultural produce collection centers may also be established in
areas where feasible, which may also serve as buying stations of farm
products,
packaging houses, pick-up points and meeting places of
farmers'/growers'
cooperatives;
f. Establish
linkages
with various government and private research institutions for the
conduct
of studies and researches designed to promote the production, marketing
and processing of high-value crops;
g. Conduct
farmers'
training programs primarily aimed at increasing their knowledge on
production
technologies and on market potentials and prospects for various types
of
high-value crops, through the DA-Agricultural Training Institute (ATI),
the DTI or the LGU's technicians or by contracting agriculturists and
marketing
specialists from private or academic institutions;
h. Establish
experimental
stations and seed farms for the development of varieties suitable to
the
agro-climatic conditions of the area and markets that will provide
greatest
value added to high-value crops; and
i. Devise and
maintain
a system for regularly obtaining information on current and future
production,
their prices and movement in trade, to determine and effect a balanced
distribution of high-value crops by means of inter-trading or
intra-trading
among the established wholesale markets. Such amount as may be needed
for
the initial operating expenses of the group shall be charged to any
available
funds in the appropriation for current operating expenditures of the
Department
of Agriculture. Thereafter, the amount necessary for its operations
shall
be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.
Sec. 12. Repealing Clause.
— All laws or parts thereof, decrees, orders, rules and regulations
inconsistent
with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified
accordingly:
Provided, however, That nothing in this Act shall be construed
or
applied as amending the CARL and other laws on agrarian reform.
Sec. 13. Separability
Clause. — If any of the provisions of this Act is declared invalid,
the other provisions not affected thereby shall remain in full force
and
effect.
Sec. 14. Effectivity Clause.
— This Act shall take effect immediately following its publication in a
newspaper of general circulation or in the Official Gazette, whichever
comes first.
Approved: 23 February 1995.
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