The Department of Agriculture (DA) is eying the transformation of its attached agency Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) into a capital build up firm that will tap funds from international agencies that see potential in financing the modernization of Philippine agriculture.

ACPC Executive Director Jovita M. Corpuz said in an interview that Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr. said in an ACPC council meeting that ACPC's present capability must be fully strengthened with its expansion into capital sourcing for the agriculture industry on top of its function to formulate credit policies for the sector.

Such possible expansion of ACPC strikes head-on on the top stumbling block in the implementation of Republic Act 8435 or the Agricultural Modernization and Fisheries Act. (AFMA) since this began in 1998. AFMA should be in the tail-end of a seven-year implementation if not for the absence of the yearly additional P20-billion budget for DA.

"Right now, DA is just depending on the Department of Budget and Management's (DBM) budget release. But Secretary Lorenzo wants to utilize ACPC for that purpose of tapping funds from international agencies to finance priority projects on rice, corn. He wants us to be active on that aspect. He challenged us "What can you do to source funds outside of the government and sustain influx of these funds?" Corpuz said. 

The acquisition of funds from foreign agencies is apparently viable as the DA already currently enjoys commodity grants (in the form of fertilizer, soybean meal, milk, and other goods that re monetised) from agencies such as the United States Department of Agriculture, Japanese government and the Canadian International Development Agency.

Corpuz said an expansion of such program is visible with DA's current various memorandum of agreement, memorandum of cooperation, and technical assistance agreements not only with the US and Japan with countries as China, Egypt, India, and Iran.

ACPC's strengthening into a capital build up agency is feasible with its existing ties with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, National Economic Development Authority, DBM, and the Department of Finance as present ACPC council members. Its membership, Corpuz said, can expand into other agencies that support agricultural modernization including the Department of Agrarian Reform and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

ACPC has formulated the implementation of the Agro-industry Modernization Credit Financing Program and the Innovative Financing scheme which has turned the former supply-oriented financing in agriculture into a market-driven financing scheme that taps private sector's (miller, traders, non-government organization's financing to fill in the government's budget gap.

ACPC is also currently involved in troubleshooting policies for the DA's Trade Remedies Office (TRO) which looks into concerns on Philippine products' competitively against imported goods in light of the trade liberalization and recommends tariff restructuring or schemes that prevent local goods' production attrition due to dumping of goods from the international market.

ACPC has just introduced the IFS Mindanao Natin last June 3 under which it provided a P40-million fund allotted to non-traditional loan retailers in Zamboanga, Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao, Lanao del Norte, Bukidnon, and other Mindanao provinces.