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ExpectMore.govExpectMore.gov home pageEXPECT FEDERAL PROGRAMS TO PERFORM WELL, AND BETTER EVERY YEAR.
Program Assessment

Program

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Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act

This Act, implemented by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, is designed to protect market participants from loss due to fraudulent activity and prevent unwarranted destruction of farm products. The program provides dispute resolution procedures and maintains a reserve of buyer's produce-related assets to use as awards.

Rating

What This Rating Means

PERFORMING
Moderately Effective

In general, a program rated Moderately Effective has set ambitious goals and is well-managed. Moderately Effective programs likely need to improve their efficiency or address other problems in the programs' design or management in order to achieve better results.
  • The program addresses unfair business practices unique to trading perishable agricultural commodities. Because of the time sensitive nature of trading perishable commodities, the program seeks to prevent rejection of produce without probable cause, failure to promptly pay an agreed price, destruction or misbranding of produce, and falsification of inspection certificates.
  • The program is intended to cover its operating expenses through user fees; however the program is able to cover any revenue shortfall with a portion of the appropriated funding provided by the Congress.
  • Continued industry support for the program is demonstrated by the activities of the Fruit and Vegetable Advisory Committee, which meets regularly with program staff to review program activities. It is important to note though that consultation with industry advisory committees is not considered an independent review.

Improvement Plan

About Improvement Plans

We are taking the following actions to improve the performance of the program:

  • Reevaluating the cost of services provided by the program (in advance of the appropriated dollars being depleted) and determining how best to adjust future fees.
  • Obtaining an independent review of program activities that focuses on both annual and long-term performance goals and how progress in working towards these goals is measured.
  • Identifying and correcting strategic planning deficiencies.

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