PRODUCER ORGANISATIONS ACT *

CHAPTER 447

PRODUCER ORGANISATIONS ACT *

To provide for the creation of Producer Organisations in the

Agricultural and Fisheries sectors.

6th January, 2003

ACT IX of 2002 , as amended by Legal Notices 426 of 2007 , 346 of

2008 and 182 of 2012 .

PART I

Preliminary

The short title of this Act is the Producer Organisations

Act.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -

''action plan'' means an approved plan by a producer organisation

to meet the criteria for recognition in accordance with regulations

made under article 19;

''Director'' means the Director of Agriculture or the Director of

Fisheries, as the case may require, and includes, to the extent of the

authority given, any officer authorised by the Director, in writing,

to act in that behalf for any of the purposes of this Act;

''interbranch association'' means an association made up of

representatives of economic activities linked to the production, the

trading in and the processing of the product, and may include

representatives of any one or more of such economic activities;

''marketed production'' means the products of members of the

producer organisation marketed through the organisation;

''market withdrawal'' means the withdrawal from the market of

products covered by an operational programme; and ''withdrawal

from the market'' shall be construed accordingly;

''measure'' means a group of related actions which together meet

one or more of the objectives under the operational programme;

''member'' means a person who, together with other persons,

forms, creates or joins a producer organisation;

''Minister'' means the Minister responsible for agriculture and

fisheries;

''operational fund'' means the producer organisation account,

based on producer contributions and Government funding, which is

used solely to finance operational programmes, action plans and

market withdrawals;

''operational programme'' means an approved plan by a producer

organisation to improve performance of the organisation over time

particularly in terms of marketing, product quality and

*This Act has been repealed by Act XXXIV of 2023.

environmental conditions;

''producer'' means any person who is involved in the trade of

tilling land or tending live stock, or engaged in the fishing industry;

''producer organisation'' means an organisation, recognised by

the Direct or, being a voluntary legally constituted body of

producers of particular products or of persons engaged in the

agricultural and, or fishing industries, acting together to produce,

harvest, store, package and, or market their products;

''producer organisation non-member'' means producers who

produce products covered by regulations made under article 19, but

who are not members of any producer organisation;

''product'' means the type of agricultural produce and, or fishery

products, covered by regulations made under article 19; and

''production'' shall be construed accordingly;

"Tribunal" means the Administrative Review Tribunal established

by article 5 of the Administrative Justice Act.

PART II

Constitution of Producer Organisations

(1) Producer organisations which are recognized by the

Director in accordance with the provisions of regulations made

under article 19 shall have a distinct legal personality from that of

their members.

(2) Producers, whose products fall under any of the categories

as may, from time to time, be prescribed by the Minister in

regulations made under article 19, may form a producer

organisation.

The functions and aims of a producer organisation shall be

(a) to take such measures as will ensure that its members’

production will be as market-orientated as possible;

(b) to promote the placing on the market of the products

produced by its members; and

(c) to promote production techniques which

are

environmentally sound and along rational lines.

A producer organisation shall only be recognised for the

purposes of this Act if, after it applies for recognition to the

Director in accordance with the provisions of this Act, it satisfies

the requirements laid down in regulations made under article 19.

(1) Members of producer organisations shall abide by the

rules of the organisation of which they are members, and shall -

(a) apply the rules adopted by the producer organisation

relating to production reporting, the production itself,

marketing and protection of the environment;

(b) belong to only one of the producer organisations in

respect of each product, but may belong to various

organisations as long as the relative organisations do

not market similar products;

(c) subject to the provisions of subarticle (2), market the

entire production of their produce through the

producer organisation; and

(d) pay such financial contributions provided for in the

rules of the producer organisation for the

establishment and replenishment of the operational

fund provided for in article 9.

(2) Where the producer organisation so authorizes, and in

compliance with the terms and conditions it lays down, the

members may -

(a) sell part of their production directly to consumers;

(b) market, through any other producer organisation or

any other marketing channel, designated by their

producer organisation, quantities of products which

are marginal in relation to the volumes marketed by

their organisation;

(c) market, through another producer organisation or any

other marketing channel, designated by their producer

organisation, products which, because of their

characteristics, are not normally covered by the

commercial activities of the organisation concerned;

and

(d) in accordance with the procedure laid down by the

Director by way of derogation, be authorised only for

limited periods and on a gradually reducing scale, and

with respect to particular products, to conclude direct

contracts with processing undertakings.

(1)

It shall be the duty of the Director to -

(a) decide whether to grant recognition to a producer

organisation within three months of the lodging of an

application together with all supporting documents

that may be required;

(b) regularly carry out checks to ascertain that producer

organisations comply with the requirements for

recognition, and are functioning in accordance with

the approved operational programme, carry out a

proper audit of operational funds, and, in the event of

non-compliance, to impose the prescribed penalties

and, or, to withdraw recognition;

(c) notify the Minister, within two months of every

decision to grant, refuse or withdraw recognition.

(2) Without prejudice to any other action competent to the

Director under this or any other law, failure by an organisation to

function in accordance with an approved operational programme or

to submit its books for inspection and verification and to allow an

audit thereof provided for in this article, shall render the officers of

the organisation liable to such administrative penalties and fines as

may be prescribed.

PART III

Operation of Producer Organisations

(1) Producer organisations shall be governed by such

regulations as may be prescribed under article 19 and shall be run

in accordance with the operational programme referred to in

subarticle (2).

(2) Producer organisations shall submit, for approval by the

Director, operational programmes whenever required to do so by

the Director, and no changes to such operational programmes shall

become effective without the prior approval, in writing, of the

Director.

(3) The Director shall signify his consent or otherwise to a

change in an operational programme within three months of the

submission, by the producer organisation concerned, of the request

for such change.

(1) Producer organisations setting up an operational fund

may apply to the Director, in accordance with the provisions of this

Act, for financial assistance.

(2) The operational fund referred to in subarticle (1) may be

applied, by producer organisations, for the financing of market

withdrawals only where the operational programme has been

approved by the Director in accordance with article 8(2).

(3) The Minister may make regulations establishing the

conditions under which products covered by an operational

programme may be withdrawn from the market, and the manner in

which products so withdrawn may be disposed of.

The Director shall take such measures as he may deem

appropriate to promote and improve the competitiveness of

products listed in regulations made under this Act and intended to

be placed on the market by producer organisations.

PART IV

Interbranch Associations

(1) Interbranch associations which are recognised by the

Director in accordance with the provisions of regulations made

under article 19 shall have a distinct legal personality from that of

their members.

(2) The Director shall, in accordance with regulations made

under article 19 -

(a) decide whether to grant recognition to an interbranch

association, within three months of the lodging of an

application together with all relevant supporting

documents, as specified in the said regulations;

(b) carry out checks at regular intervals to ensure that

interbranch associations meet the terms and conditions

for recognition;

(c) withdraw recognition if -

(i)

the terms and conditions for recognition

specified in regulations referred to in this article

are no longer met; or

(ii) the interbranch association contravenes or fails

to comply with any other regulation prescribed

under this Act;

(d) notify the Minister, within two months, of any decision

to grant, refuse or withdraw recognition.

(3) Without prejudice to any other action competent to the

Director under this or any other law, failure by an interbranch

association to function in accordance with the provisions of this

Act or of any regulations made thereunder, shall render the officers

of the interbranch association liable to such administrative

penalties and fines as may be prescribed.

PART V

General

(1) The Director shall, every year, forward to the Minister

an annual report on the activities of producer organisations and

interbranch associations.

(2) The Director shall, once a year, publish in the Gazette a list

of registered producer organisations and interbranch associations;

the Director shall also publish in the Gazette any withdrawals of

recognition of producer organisations and interbranch associations,

as well as lists of products, if any, withdrawn from the market at

any particular time or times during th e th ree m onth period

immediately preceding such publication.

(1) Producer organisations may allow producers, who are

not members of producer organisations, if the latter so request, to

withdraw products from the market under such conditions as may

be prescribed

Provided that the withdrawal compensation, if any, which

may be payable to such producers, in the form of financial

assistance payable by the Director, shall be reduced by a maximum

of ten per centum of the compensation payable to members of the

producer organisation, and provided also that the amount paid shall

take account of the overall withdrawal costs borne by such

producers

Provided further that compensation shall not be granted

where the amount of products withdrawn from the market is higher

than the percentage, as the Director may from time to time

establish, of the total amount of the product which would have

otherwise been marketed by the producer.

(2) Producer organisations shall keep the Director informed of

any measures taken in accordance with the provisions of subarticle

(1).

(1) The Director shall authorise the payment, out of the

operational fund, of the withdrawal compensation, which shall be

fixed in accordance with such regulations as may be prescribed

u n d e r a r t i c l e 1 9 , t o p r o d u c e r o rg a n i s a t i o n s o r i n t e r b r a n c h

associations which have withdrawn products from the market in

accordance with the provisions of this Act or any regulations made

thereunder.

(2) The Director may, in such circumstances as he may deem

appropriate, authorise the payment of the withdrawal compensation

even where the amount of products withdrawn from the market

exceeds the limit, which may have been set by the Director at the

beginning of the year, to prevent imbalances in withdrawals of

products from the market for the payment of withdrawal

compensation.

(3) Where producer organisations and interbranch associations

are unable to direct withdrawn products to one of the destinations

referred to in article 15, the withdrawal compensation shall be

granted only if the products are disposed of in accordance with

such instructions as the Director may give.

Products which are withdrawn form the market in

accordance with the provisions of this Act or of regulations made

thereunder shall be disposed of in any of the following methods, as

shall be determined by the Director

(a) free distribution to charitable organisations;

(b) free distribution to penal institutions, hospitals and old

people’s homes;

(c) use for non-food purposes; or

(d) use in animal feeds, either in their fresh state or after

processing by the feeding stuffs industry.

Without prejudice to any other action which the Director

may take under any of the provisions of this Act, the Director may

c a r ry o u t spo t c h e c k s to e nsu re the proper a pplication a nd

implementation of the provisions of this Act, or of any regulations

made thereunder, by the members of the producer organisations and

of the interbranch associations.

(1) The Director shall designate such number of his

officers as inspectors for each sector, as he may deem fit, who shall

be persons with suitable qualifications, technical knowledge and

experience to take part in such inspections, as may be required in

order to ensure that producer organisations and interbranch

associations are acting in conformity with the provisions of this

Act, or any regulations made thereunder.

(2) The inspectors shall, in the course of such inspections,

follow such instructions as may be given by the Director under this

Act, as regards the manner, duration and method of the inspections

carried out, and shall be bound by the rules of professional secrecy.

(1) The Tribunal shall have jurisdiction to hear and

determine all appeals made by a person aggrieved by any decision

of the Director, relating to the grant, refusal or withdrawal of

recognition of a producer organisation or of an interbranch

association, or the refusal by the Director of the payment of

compensation withdrawal.

(2) The Tribunal may require any department or agency of the

Government to provide the Tribunal with such information or

a d v i c e a s t h e Tr i b u n a l m a y d e e m n e c e s s a r y f o r t h e p r o p e r

execution of its functions.

(3) An appeal from a decision of the Director as aforesaid shall

be made by application and shall be filed with the Secretary of the

Tribunal within twenty days from the date on which the said

decision has been notified.

(4) The provisions of the Administrative Justice Act, in so far

as they apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal, shall apply to

any proceedings before the said Tribunal and the words "public

administration" in the said enactment shall be construed as a

reference to the Director.

(5) The provisions of article 25 of the Administrative Justice

Act shall apply to any appeals pending before the Producer

Organisations Appeals Board constituted under article 18, as the

said article stood prior to the coming into force of this article, and

any such appeals shall be assigned to the Administrative Review

Tribunal in terms of the aforesaid article 25 with effect from 1st

July, 2012.

Deleted by Legal Notice 182 of 2012.

(1) The Minister may make regulations for the better

carrying out of the provisions of this Act.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subarticle (1), the

regulations may make provision for

(a) the criteria to be used for the recognition of producer

organisations and interbranch associations, including

the minimum number of members and the minimum

volume of marketable production required for

recognition;

(b) the categories of products which qualify for the

formation and the recognition of producer

organisations and interbranch associations; and the

categories of related trades which qualify for the

formation and the recognition of interbranch

associations;

(c) the conditions under which a producer organisation or

an interbranch association shall be deemed to be

representative of a sector or of a specific area;

(d) the rules governing the running and operation of

producer organisations and interbranch associations;

(e) the information which producer organisations are

expected to collect and forward upon demand and the

provision for administrative penalties and fines, not

exceeding two thousand and three hundred and

twenty-nine euro and thirty-seven cents (2,329.37), in

PRODUCER ORGANISATIONS

cases of unjustified delays or systematic negligence in

the proper performance of these tasks;

(f)

the contents of operational programmes, and the rules

which govern the allocation of financial aid to

operational funds;

(g) the proportion of the operational fund which may be

used to finance market withdrawals;

(h) the procedure for the establishment, administration

and inspections of producer organisations;

(i)

the measures which may be taken by the Director to

improve the competitiveness of products and their

promotion;

(j)

the determination of the withdrawal compensation

payable for a particular product; and

(k) the administrative penalties and fines, not exceeding

two thousand and three hundred and twenty-nine euro

and thirty-seven cents (2,329.37), which may be

imposed on producer organisations and, or interbranch

associations which do not fulfil their undertakings or

act in contravention of the provisions of this Act.