Farm Advisory Services Regulations, 2010

L.N. 113 of 2010

SUPPLIES AND SERVICES ACT

(CAP. 117)

Farm Advisory Services Regulations, 2010

IN exercise of the powers conferred by Article 3 of the

Supplies and Services Act, the Ministry for Resources and Rural

Affairs has made the following regulations:-

(1) The title of these regulations is the Farm Advisory

Services Regulations, 2010.

(2) These regulations shall regulate the setting up and

registration of the Farm Advisory Service to assist farmers and

livestock breeders by providing professional advice on statutory

management requirements, good agricultural and environmental

conditions, occupational safety standards and all associated

European Community legislation for the improvement of the

overall performance of their holding.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise

requires –

“the Act” means the Supplies and Services Act;

“the Board” means the Farm Advisory Registration

Board set by regulation 5 hereof;

“competent authority” means the Paying Agency within

the Ministry responsible for rural affairs.

“entity” includes any company, association, co-

operative, trade union, partnership, or any other recognised

legal form.

FARM ADVISORY SERVICES

The following shall apply for registration of Farm Advisory Entities

DESCRIPTION OF FEE

Euro

Administrative Fee 20

Registration Fee

Yearly Renewal Fee

B

€0.75

The primary objective of the Farm Advisory service shall

be to provide advisory services to farmers and livestock breeders

for the improvement of the overall performance of their holding.

Such minimum advisory service to farmers shall cover

(a) the statutory management requirements and the

good agricultural and environmental conditions provided for

in Articles 5 and 6 and in Annexes III and IV to Regulation

EC 73/2009;

(b) occupational safety standards based on Community

legislation;

(c) observance, by farmers and livestock breeders, of –

(i)

good farming practices,

(ii)

code of good agricultural practices,

(iii)

health and safety standards,

(iv) awareness and above all compliance with all

Directives falling under cross compliance,

(v) developments and obligations on current and

future CAP payments and rural developments measures;

(d) aid in the compilation of application forms and,

or whole farm management plans of rural development

measures.

Advisory services shall be granted in order to help

farmers, livestock breeders and forest holders to meet costs arising

from the use of recognised services.

There shall be a board, to be known as the Farm Advisory

Registration Board, which shall be appointed in accordance with

the provisions of these regulations, and which shall, inform the

registrar to issue certificates or make any suspensions, cancellations

and reinstatements of those certificates in the register, or any other

action deemed necessary by the Board.

(1) Decisions on applications for registration shall be

taken by the Board composed of five members being representatives

from the Ministry responsible for agriculture. All these members

shall be appointed by the Permanent Secretary responsible at the

Ministry responsible for agriculture. The chairperson shall be

appointed by the members of the Board during their first sitting.

The secretary to the Board shall be a representative from the Paying

Agency who shall also act as registrar and shall be responsible

for the register of the Farm Advisory Services. The Board shall

regulate its own procedure

(2) The Board shall assess applications for recognition

and for registration and shall prepare a list of all entities which, in

the opinion of the Board, meet the requirements for registration

and which therefore may be issued with a certificate of registration.

The Board shall also provide reasons for its decisions.

(3) The decisions of the Board to accept or to refuse

an application for registration in the Register shall be notified in

writing by the registrar to the applicant within thirty days from the

decision.

(4) Applicants who do not agree with the outcome of

the registration process will have the right to appeal from such

decision in writing to the Board of Disputes referred to in the

Dispute Resolution Board Regulations, 2007 within fifteen days L.N. 168 of 2007.

from when the decision is issued; the result of the appeal shall be

communicated within thirty days from the lodging of the appeal

and the decision of the Dispute Resolution Board shall be final.

The registrar shall be responsible for keeping the register

and shall issue a certificate of registration in the Register, and shall

also note therein all suspensions, cancellations and reinstatements

of those certificates. The list of the registered entities shall be made

public and will be updated regularly with any changes therein.

Entities shall undertake to allow access to members or

persons authorised by the Board for the purpose of carrying out

an inspection in order to verify the accuracy of any information

provided or any declaration made to ensure compliance with these

regulations.

Applications for registration shall be submitted to the

competent authority in terms of a notice to be published in the

Gazette.

(1) In order to be registered as a farm advisory Criteria for

entity, the entity shall have to demonstrate that it has a core with registration.

competent two years experience and qualified technical experts or

consultants with an appropriate level of technical and economic-

based training, and proven knowledge of CAP policies, cross

compliance, as well as good farming practices, CoGAP, health

and safety, rural development measures and applications, and

agricultural production (livestock and crop husbandry). A single

expert or consultant with the same requirements as above can also

be considered. The technical support team to any expert and, or

consultants, must also be registered. The Farm Advisory Service

shall demonstrate that the members forming the technical support

team has a diploma and, or long work experience in the field he

is working in. Such experts and consultants can also be supported

by a team of technical administrative team. Any report issued by

the entity selected would have to be signed by such experts and

consultants and not by a member of the support team. A curriculum

vitae together with a transcript of their credits of the core experts is

to be presented as evidence of their qualification together with the

application by the entity for registration. The experts cannot be part

of more than one Farm Advisory Service entity.

(2) The entity must undertake to organize training

courses in all technical areas covered by sub-regulation (1) hereof.

(3) The entity shall first pay an administrative fee

indicated in the Schedule to these regulations The Board shall

then assess whether the entity should be recognised. Following a

communication from the Board that the entity may be recognised,

the entity shall pay the recognition fee as established in the

Schedule. This recognition fee shall not be refundable.

(4) The entity shall also provide a declaration

indicating that there is no conflict of interest with their clients.

The entity shall be bound to ensure that the advisory officials who

provide client advice shall not have the same evaluating status

applications.

The Board shall register an entity if it is satisfied that it

meets the criteria established in regulation 10 hereof.

(1) Registered farm advisory entities shall be obliged

to follow advice and recommendations given by the Ministry

responsible for agriculture; moreover, such entities are bound to

ensure that correlated work shall not be re-diverted to, or requested

from the Ministry responsible for agriculture.

(2) Farm advisory entities shall take full responsibility

of all information provided and services rendered to their clients by

their personnel, and they shall provide a signed declaration to this

effect when submitting the relevant registration documentation.

(3) Client data, records or status changes shall be

reported to the Board within ten working days.

(4) Insofar as public access to documents is concerned,

private bodies and designated authorities shall not disclose personal

or individual information which they obtain in their advisory

activity to persons other than the farmer managing the holding

concerned, except where any irregularity or infringement is found

during their activity. Such irregularity or infringement is to be

covered by an obligation to inform a public authority, in particular

in the case of criminal offences.

(5) The farm advisory service entity shall, one month

prior the termination of validity date issued on the certificate,

provide a copy of the status report of each client to the Government

entity.

(6) Farm advisory services shall ensure that its experts

shall attend a specialized training course approved by the Ministry

responsible for agriculture on cross compliance covering the

obligations of the Statutory Management Requirements and Good

Agricultural and Environmental Conditions.

(7) The Farm Advisory Services shall provide half

yearly status reports on the Farm Advisory service to be assessed

by the Board. The half yearly report shall be submitted not later

than the 1st June and the 1st December of each year.

(8) The competent authority may issue guidelines

for the status report and on the setting up of the Farm Advisory

Services.

(1) The certificate of registration shall contain the Certificate of

following information

(a) the name of the entity or other means of

identification;

(b) the date when the certificate is issued.

(2) Certificates issued to eligible farm advisory entities

shall be valid for one year. Certificates may be renewed following

an application of the Farm Advisory Service provided that all the

criteria for registration as provided in regulation 10 are to the

Board’s satisfaction.

The Board may cancel any certificate granted under the

provisions of these regulations when the holder of that certificate

(a) is found guilty by a court of criminal jurisdiction

of a crime committed through imprudence, carelessness,

unskilfulness in an art or profession, or non-observance of

these regulations; or

(b) is found guilty by a court of criminal jurisdiction

of any offence under the provisions of the Act, or of any

regulations made thereunder; or

(c) has, in the opinion of the Board, submitted

substandard or deliberately misleading work in any farm

advisory procedure; or

(d)

fails to pay the yearly renewal fee; or

(e) upon failure to provide the necessary documentation

and, or evidence as requested by the Board within one month

from the request.

(1) Any entity which, for the purposes of obtaining

the certificate for registration in the Register, gives any wrong

information or otherwise acts in a deceitful or fraudulent manner,

shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to

a fine (multa) not exceeding two thousand and three hundred and

twenty-nine euro (€2,329).

(2) The offences and fines mentioned in this regulation

shall be without prejudice to any other offences and penalties in

terms of the Act or of any other law.

Farm advisory entities shall undertake to comply with or

accept any changes to the commitments, undertaken in accordance

with these regulations that may be necessary as a result of European

Union or national legislation on the European Agricultural Fund for

Rural Development.

The rules and procedures as well as the minimum

requirements for an entity to be accepted as a registered farm

advisory entity shall be published in the Gazette.

The Farm Advisory Services Regulations, 2008 are

hereby being revoked.

B

SCHEDULE Regulation 10, (3)