As part of the country’s strategy of providing greater opportunities and achieving sustainable economic growth in the field of agriculture and fisheries, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF) was signed between the Department of Agriculture (DA) and State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) on September 23, 2019.

ACEF, which was enacted to serve as a “safety net” against the effects of the trade liberalization policies of the government, is a loan program that provides credit to farmers and fisherfolk, their associations and cooperatives, and macro and smallscale enterprises to increase agri-fishery productivity and competitiveness.

Republic Act 10848 or ACEF Extension Law states that ten percent of the ACEF is allocated as grant to fund agri-fishery research and development (R&D) activities of qualified SUCs including commercialization and upgrading of research facilities.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar said that modernization of agriculture must be on top of the game of the SUCs, given their wide range of expertise.

“Whatever you are upscaling through technology commercialization must be assisted by a state-of-the-art R&D facility of the region,” Dar emphasized.

The Bureau of Agricultural Research, DA’s coordinating arm for R&D, was tasked to solicit, screen, and evaluate grant proposals from the SUCs.

“We call for more proposals from the SUCs for ACEF R&D,” said DA Assistant Secretary for Special Affairs and concurrent BAR Director, Nicomedes Eleazar. ### (Daryl Lou A. Battad)