The Organic Farming Scheme (Wales) Regulations 2001

Made: 15th February 2001

Coming into force: 19th February 2001

The National Assembly for Wales, being designated for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 in relation to the common agricultural policy of the European Community, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by that section, and all other powers enabling it in that behalf, after obtaining the approval of the European Commission to a rural development plan submitted in draft in accordance with Article 41 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1257/1999 on support for rural development, hereby makes the following Regulations—

Name, commencement and application

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These Regulations are called the Organic Farming Scheme (Wales) Regulations 2001, shall apply in relation to Wales and in relation to holdings in respect of which the National Assembly is the relevant competent authority and shall come into force on 19th February 2001.

Interpretation

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• (1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

• “AAPS” (“CTATA”) means the Arable Area Payment Scheme;

• “the 1994 Regulations” (“Rheoliadau 1994”) means the Organic Farming (Aid) Regulations 1994 ;

• “the 1999 Regulations” (“Rheoliadau 1999”) means the Organic Farming (Wales) Regulations 1999 ;“agriculture” (“amaethyddiaeth”) includes horticulture, fruit growing, seed growing, dairy farming, livestock breeding and keeping and the use of land for grazing, meadow land, market gardens or nursery grounds, but does not include the use of land—as osier land; orfor woodlands, except where that use is ancillary to any other use of land for the purposes of agriculture;

• “agri-environment scheme” (“cynllun amaeth-amgylcheddol”) means an arrangement which is—regulated by statutory instrument providing for the payment of aid to persons who give an undertaking or enter into an agreement in relation to the use or management of land; andapproved by the Commission of the European Communities under Article 44 of Council Regulation 1257/1999 as part of a rural development plan drawn up pursuant to Article 41 of that Regulation;

• “aid” (“cymorth”) means the payments under the Community aid scheme referred to in Article 2 of Council Regulation 1257/1999 in so far as it relates to farmers who undertake to introduce organic farming methods;

• “application” (“cais”) means an application for aid pursuant to regulation 3 or regulation 5A as the case may be made in accordance with regulation 9 in respect of one or more organic parcels, and “applicant” (“ceisydd”) and “apply” (“gwneud cais”) shall be construed accordingly;

• “approved” (“a gymeradwywyd”) means approved by an inspection authority;

• “authorised person” (“person awdurdodedig”) means a person (whether or not an officer of the National Assembly) who is authorised by the National Assembly, either generally or specifically, to act in relation to matters arising under these Regulations;

• “beneficiary” (“buddiolwr”) means—a person whose application in respect of land comprising one or more organic parcels, has been accepted by the National Assembly; ora person who occupies the whole or any part of an organic unit following a change of occupation of the holding, who has given an undertaking to comply with all the obligations assumed by its previous occupier under these Regulations, in so far as they relate to land comprised in that organic unit, or the part of that organic unit occupied by the new occupant, and whose undertaking in such terms has been accepted by the National Assembly;

• “certificate of registration” (“tystysgrif gofrestru”) means a certificate issued by an inspection authority in respect of an organic parcel, specifying, where applicable, the conversion period which applies in relation to that organic parcel, or the date on which that conversion period begins; and for this purpose a certificate so issued is issued “in respect of” an organic parcel if it relates to that organic parcel, whether or not it also relates to any other organic parcel;

• “the Commission Regulation” (“Rheoliad y Comisiwn”) means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1750/1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1257/1999;

• “conversion” (“trosi”), in relation to an organic parcel, means the conversion of that organic parcel to being fully organic;

• “conversion period” (“cyfnod trosi”), in relation to an organic parcel, means the period determined by the inspection authority as the period in which the conversion of that organic parcel is expected to be completed, being a period starting—in relation to the first organic parcel, not later than the date of acceptance; andin relation to any other organic parcel, not later than the fifth anniversary of the date of acceptance;

• “Council Regulation 2092/91” (“Rheoliad y Cyngor 2092/91”) means Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2092/91 on organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs;

• “Council Regulation 1257/1999” (“Rheoliad y Cyngor 1257/1999”) means Council Regulation (EC) No. 1257/1999 on support for rural development;

• “date of acceptance” (“dyddiad derbyn”) means the date on which the National Assembly accepts an application in accordance with regulation 3 or regulation 5A as the case may be;

• “date of receipt” (“dyddiad dod i law”), in relation to an organic parcel, means the date on which the National Assembly received an application in accordance with regulation 9 in respect of that organic parcel;

• “financial year” (“blwyddyn ariannol”) means the twelve months ending with 31st March;

• “first organic parcel” (“parsel organig cyntaf”) means, of all the organic parcels comprised in an application, the organic parcel the conversion period for which begins first;

• “first year” (“blwyddyn gyntaf”) means—in relation to an organic parcel—in a case where the conversion period in respect of the organic parcel has commenced no later than the date of acceptance, the year beginning with the date of acceptance; andin any other case, the year beginning with the anniversary of the date of acceptance which is the first such anniversary to occur during the conversion period relating to the organic parcel in question; andin relation to an organic unit, the first year in relation to the first organic parcel to which an application relates, being the first such application relating to land comprised in that organic unit;and any reference to any successive year is a reference to the relevant successive year following in sequence from the first year;

• “fully organic” (“hollol organig”) in relation to an organic parcel or organic unit means that—the inspection authority is satisfied that the conversion of that organic parcel or organic unit is completed; andnotification having been given under Article 8 of Council Regulation 2092/91, details of such organic parcel or organic unit have appeared in the list referred to in that Article;

• “holding” (“daliad”) means all the production units situated within the same member State’s territory managed by a producer;

• “inspection authority” (“awdurdod archwilio”), in relation to an organic unit or organic parcel, means—the authority designated by the Organic Products (Wales) Regulations 2002 for the purposes of Article 9 of Council Regulation 2092/91, ora private inspection body approved by that authority in accordance with Article 9 of that Regulation (which concerns the inspection system to which organic farming is subject),being the authority or private inspection body to whom the applicant has applied to carry out inspection functions in relation to that organic unit or organic parcel;

• “land” (“tir”) means land which is used for agriculture;

• “landlord” (“landlord”), in relation to the tenant of a holding, means any person who either solely or jointly owns, or has a superior tenancy of, that holding, and “immediate landlord” (“landlord uniongyrchol”) means the landlord from whose title (or, as the case may be, joint title) the tenant directly derives his or her title;

• “last organic parcel” (“parsel organig olaf”) means, of all the organic parcels which are the subject of an application, the organic parcel the conversion period for which begins last;

• “livestock” (“da byw”) means any animal or fowl kept for the production of food, wool or skins or for the breeding of any animal for any such purpose;

• “livestock undergoing conversion” (“da byw sy’n cael eu trosi”) means livestock that is identified in an approved plan as being in the process of being converted into organic livestock, and which fully conform to those UKROFS standards which apply in relation to the organic farming of livestock undergoing conversion;

• “the National Assembly” (“y Cynulliad Cenedlaethol”) means the National Assembly for Wales;

• “organic farming” (“ffermio organig”) means farming by organic farming methods;

• “organic farming methods” (“dulliau ffermio organig”) means farming in accordance with Annex 1 to Council Regulation 2092/91;

• “organic livestock” (“da byw organig”) means livestock that are identified in an approved plan as being livestock that fully conform to those UKROFS standards which apply in relation to the organic farming of livestock;

• “organic parcel” (“parsel organig”) means an area of land which comprises the whole or part of an organic unit and which is identified in an approved plan by reference to any system of field numbering that the National Assembly may direct;

• “organic unit” (“uned organig”) means an area of land which comprises the whole or part of a holding, and which has been established as an organic unit in accordance with Annex III to Council Regulation 2092/91 (which concerns the inspection scheme for organic units);

• “owner” (“perchennog”) means the person who owns the fee simple of the holding, and “owns” shall be construed accordingly;

• “plan” (“cynllun”) means a schedule in writing specifying, in relation to an organic unit—those parcels which have been registered by the inspection authority;those parcels which it is intended to register in the future;the dates on which such organic parcels have been or (as the case may be) are to be registered; andwhere the plan relates to land on which livestock is kept, the livestock that is undergoing conversion or that is already organic livestock;

• “relevant competent authority” (“awdurdod cymwys perthnasol”) means the authority which is the relevant competent authority within the meaning of the Integrated Administration and Control Regulations 1993;

• “specified period” (“cyfnod penodedig”) means:in relation to an application under regulation 3, the period beginning with the date of acceptance and ending on the expiry of the period of five years from the date upon which the first payment becomes payable in respect of the last organic parcel which is subject of that application; orin relation to an application under regulation 5A, the period beginning with the date of acceptance of an application for payment and ending on the expiry of the period of five years from the date upon which such payments became payable in respect of the organic parcel or parcels which are the subject of that application;

• “tenant” (“tenant”) means a person whose right to occupation of a holding derives from—an agreement which has effect by virtue of section 2 of the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 as an agreement for the letting of land on a tenancy from year to year;a tenancy agreement falling within section 1 of the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 ; ora contract for a tenancy for a fixed term of years; and

• “UKROFS standards” (“safonau UKROFS”) means the production standards for organic farming of the United Kingdom Register of Organic Food Standards published in January 1999 by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and known as the UKROFS Standards for Organic Food Production.

• (2) Any reference in these Regulations to—

• (a) a numbered regulation or Schedule shall be construed as a reference to the regulation or Schedule so numbered in these Regulations; and

• (b) a numbered or lettered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph so numbered or lettered in the regulation in which the reference occurs.

• (3) Words and phrases used in the Regulations and not defined in paragraph (1) shall be construed in accordance with Schedule 1.

Aid for organic farming

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• (1) Subject to the provisions of regulations 6 and 7, the National Assembly may make payments of aid in accordance with these Regulations—

• (a) in respect of an organic parcel, to any person who is a beneficiary in respect of that organic parcel; and

• (b) in respect of an organic unit, to any person who is a beneficiary in respect of an organic parcel comprised in that organic unit,

provided that, in relation to any payment in respect of any given year, the beneficiary has made a claim for payment in respect of that year in accordance with regulation 9, and has supplied such further information and evidence in relation to that claim as the National Assembly reasonably may direct to be supplied.

• (2) If, following the receipt of an application made in accordance with regulation 9, and such information and evidence as the National Assembly reasonably may direct to be supplied, it appears to the National Assembly that the applicant satisfies the conditions of eligibility specified in regulation 5 in respect of all, some or any one of the organic parcels that are the subject of that application (“the eligible organic parcels”), the National Assembly must, subject to regulations 6, 7 and 8, accept the application with respect to the eligible organic parcel or parcels and notify the applicant in writing of the acceptance and the date from which aid shall become payable in respect of the eligible organic parcel or parcels.

• (3) An application may be withdrawn by a notice in writing given by the applicant at any time before the application is accepted by the National Assembly.

• (4) A claim for the payment of aid shall be made at such time as the National Assembly may reasonably direct.

• (5) A payment of aid made by the National Assembly to a beneficiary pursuant to these Regulations may be made at any time during the year in respect of which the payment in question is to be made.

Determination of amount of aid and periods for which aid is paid

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• (1) Subject to the provisions of these Regulations, when a beneficiary is entitled to the payment of aid, the aid shall be paid in respect of the following periods—

• (a) in respect of an organic parcel, five years—

• (i) in the case of the first organic parcel, beginning with the date of acceptance; and

• (ii) in any other case, beginning with the anniversary of the date of acceptance which is the first such anniversary to occur during the conversion period relating to the organic parcel in question; and

• (b) in respect of an organic unit, three years beginning with the date of acceptance of the first application relating to land comprised in that organic unit.

• (2) The amount of aid payable under paragraph (1)(a) is to be determined in accordance with Part I of Schedule 1 and the amount of aid payable under paragraph (1)(b) is to be determined in accordance with Part II of Schedule 1.

Conditions of eligibility

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• (1) The conditions of eligibility referred to in regulation 3(2) are that—

• (a) the application shall be made in respect of not less than one hectare of land;

• (b) at the date of his application, the applicant—

• (i) shall be the owner or tenant of the land which is the subject of the application and in lawful occupation of that land; and

• (ii) shall not be disqualified from eligibility to participate in an agri-environment scheme either by application of a penalty consequent upon Article 48(2) of the Commission Regulation (which requires member States to determine a system of penalties for breaches of undertakings) or by application of Article 48(3) of the Commission Regulation (which requires a person who, intentionally or by reason of gross negligence, makes a false declaration to be excluded from all aid under Council Regulation 1257/1999);

• (c) the use of any land in accordance with the proposals contained in the application relating to it shall not be such as to frustrate the purposes of any assistance previously given or to be given out of money provided by Parliament or by the European Community; and

• (d) the applicant shall give the undertakings mentioned in paragraph (2) in support of the application.

• (2) The undertakings referred to in paragraph (1)(d) are—

• (a) before claiming payment of aid in respect of any organic parcel, to furnish to the National Assembly a certificate of registration in respect of that organic parcel;

• (b) for the duration of the specified period—

• (i) to retain a certificate of registration in respect of each organic parcel on which aid has been claimed;

• (ii) to farm the land that is the subject of the application, and such part of the organic unit comprising that land as at any given time is being farmed by organic farming methods, in accordance with the proposals set out in the application and with UKROFS standards and the standards set out in Schedule 2;

• (iii) to ensure that any organic livestock or livestock undergoing conversion which are kept on the organic unit are kept in accordance with UKROFS standards; and

• (iv) where at the date of the application the applicant has introduced organic farming on a part of the holding other than the part which is the subject of the application, to ensure that that other part conforms to UKROFS standards and continue with organic farming on that other part of the holding, in accordance with UKROFS standards and the standards set out in Schedule 2; and