Section 11Sec./Art. 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 set forth by the inter-agency committee. Aside from its usual functions, it shall be am 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 (An), 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.1aшphi1 Thereafter, the amount necessary for its operations shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.