Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Havana, October 26.- , Official Gazette No. 73 Extraordinary of October 25, 2023, publishes Bill 76/2023 on Agricultural Cooperatives, signed by Esteban Lazo Hernández, president of the Council of State.
The document points out the need to update the general legal framework for them, taking into account the experience in the application of Bill 365 and its Regulations, Decree 354, the transformations in the agricultural and forestry sector and the measures approved to boost the production, which recognize them as an essential actor in national and territorial development.
In this sense, the new regulations regulate the organization, constitution, operation, integration, division, merger, dissolution and extinction of agricultural cooperatives.
These constitute a voluntary association of people to satisfy the economic, social and cultural needs of its members, as well as social interest, with a business management model of joint ownership, supported by the work of cooperative members.
According to the text, its general purpose is the production, transformation, marketing of agricultural products and inputs, the provision of services and the performance of other lawful activities to satisfy the needs of its cooperative members and social interest.
They have their own legal personality and assets; they have the right to use, enjoy and dispose of the assets they own, and cover expenses with the income they obtain and are responsible for the obligations they contract with their assets, according to Bill 76/2023.
It emphasizes that agricultural cooperatives adopt the form of first or second degree cooperative, in accordance with the specificities provided for in the regulations, and are governed by what is established in the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba in terms of the Statutes, internal rules, agreements. that their management and administrative bodies adopt, and other current legal provisions insofar as they are applicable.
One of the articles indicates that they maintain contractual relations, on equal terms, with the other economic subjects recognized in current legislation and the provisions of the matter in force are applicable to them.
For the purposes of agricultural and forestry production, they comply with the regulations and technical instructions of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Azcuba Business Group, as the case may be, and as modalities there are the Credit and Service Cooperatives, the Agricultural Production Cooperatives and the Units. Basics of Cooperative Production.
The Bill highlights that the Municipal Administration Council (CAM) approves or denies, by means of an Agreement, the creation of agricultural cooperatives in its territory within a period of 60 calendar days from receipt of the request, after hearing the opinion of the delegate. of Agriculture, the National Association of Small Farmers or the corresponding union, as the case may be.
In this sense, the transitional provisions emphasize that the process of establishing agricultural cooperatives before the CAM, as established in this Bill, begins to apply to newly created ones.
It is also delegated to the Ministers of Agriculture and Justice to create the conditions so that those established before the entry into force of this Bill, which are registered in the registry of the National Office of Statistics and Information, are gradually updated and registered in the Commercial Registry within a period of 180 days after the implementation of the regulations.
This repeals Bill 365 on agricultural cooperatives, of October 22, 2018; Decree 354 Regulation of the Decree-Law of agricultural cooperatives, of December 18, 2018; and Resolution 348, of October 3, 2019, issued by the Minister of Agriculture.
The new provision comes into force ninety (90) days after the date of its publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cuba. (Text and photo: ACN)
