Section 9Sec./Art. 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 planting 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.