Regulations, 2013

L.N. 99 of 2013

AGRICULTURE AND FISHING INDUSTRIES

(FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) ACT

(CAP. 146)

Financial Assistance to Agricultural Value Chain

Regulations, 2013

IN exercise of the powers conferred by article 7 of the

Agricultural and Fishing Industries (Financial Assistance) Act, the

Minister for Resources and Rural Affairs, with the concurrence of the

Minister of Finance, the Economy and Investment, has made the

following regulations:-

The title of these regulations is the Financial Assistance to Citation.

Agricultural Value Chain Regulations, 2013.

For the purposes of these regulations and unless the Interpretation.

context otherwise requires

''actor'' means any natural or legal person involved in the

agricultural value chain;

''agricultural industry'' shall have the same meaning as given to

it in the Agricultural and Fishing Industries (Financial Assistance) Cap. 146.

Act;

''agricultural value chain'' means the set of actors and activities

that bring a basic product of the agricultural industry to the final

consumer, where at each stage value is added to the product. An

agricultural value chain can involve processing, packaging, storage,

transport and distribution;

''Director'' means the Director responsible for Agriculture;

''farmer'' shall mean a farmer as defined in Council Regulation

(EC) 1234/2007 of 22 October 2007 establishing a common

organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for

certain agricultural products;

''Minister'' means the Minister responsible for Agriculture;

''scheme'' means the scheme as defined under regulation 4.

These regulations shall apply to agricultural value chains Applicability.

that are identified by the Minister in the gazette.

(1)

The Minister may establish schemes in accordance

with sub-regulation (2) for the purpose of providing financial

assistance to agricultural value chains which serve to increase the

value of products of the agricultural industry.

(2) The Minister shall make rules for the implementation of a

scheme. A scheme shall include the following provisions

(a)

rationale for intervention;

(b)

identification and description of the agricultural

value chain, including the identification of the actors and the

final products of that scheme;

(c)

the objectives pursued by the scheme;

(d)

the identification of the authority that shall be

administering the scheme;

(e)

identification of the beneficiaries, which must in all

cases include farmers;

(f)

the financial intensity of the aid, indicating clearly

the values allocated to the beneficiaries and the method of

calculation;

(g)

the conditions that need to be met by the different

actors including the standards of eligible finished products,

minimum clauses for contractual agreements between actors,

details of the records that need to be kept by the different actors

and any other obligations that the actors must fulfill; and

(h)

provisions for controls and penalties.

The Minister shall publish a notice on the Gazette

notifying that the scheme has been launched and indicating where

further information on the scheme can be found. The notice shall be

published at least one week prior to the commencement of the

scheme.

The Minister may delegate to the Director any of the

powers, functions or duties of the Minister under these regulations.

€0.18