Aid for farm cooperatives that merge or join together

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. The law promotes the merger or integration of agri-food cooperatives and other associative entities in the sector, to create larger entities operating across several autonomous communities.
2. An entity can be recognized as a priority associative entity if it meets several requirements: being an associative entity, operating in more than one autonomous community, jointly marketing all of its members' production, reaching a minimum turnover to be set by regulation, and guaranteeing in its bylaws the delivery of all production and democratic control by producers.
3. Priority entities, the entities that make them up, and their producers may receive preference in grants and aid, in rural development programs, training, internationalization, R&D and innovation, and preferential financing, though that preference cannot be absolute or discriminatory.
4. A National Register of Priority Associative Entities is created at the Ministry of Agriculture, where these entities, their member entities, and their producers will be registered, with an annual update of the list of producers.
5. The aid can be financed with money from the State and the autonomous communities, and the Government must present the first State Plan for Associative Integration within six months.
6. The Cooperatives Law is amended: agricultural cooperatives are renamed agri-food cooperatives, their activities and possible members are expanded, and cooperatives are allowed to allocate their Education and Promotion Fund to unions or federations. Their tax regime is also adjusted.

Who it affects

• Agri-food cooperatives and other associative entities (such as SAT agricultural transformation societies): They can merge or join together and apply for recognition as a priority entity to access aid.
• Farmers and livestock producers who are members of these entities: They must deliver all their production for joint marketing and may receive preference in aid.
• The Ministry of Agriculture: Recognizes priority entities and manages the national register.
• The autonomous communities: They can finance the aid and take part in the State Plan for Associative Integration.

Words worth knowing

Entidad asociativa agroalimentaria prioritaria (priority agri-food associative entity)

An agricultural sector entity officially recognized for meeting the law's requirements, which gives it preference in aid.

Sociedad agraria de transformación (SAT)

A society where farm owners join together to run their farms jointly.

Fondo de Educación y Promoción (FEP)

Mandatory money that cooperatives must spend on training and cooperative promotion.

Titularidad compartida (shared ownership)

A system that recognizes two people as owners of a farm, for example a married couple.

Supraautonómico (supra-regional)

Operating or present in more than one autonomous community.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries