Rural Development Support Team EU Turkish Cypriot community support Producer Groups March 2012

Rural Development Support Team EU Turkish Cypriot community support What is a Producer Group ? A producer group is an enterprise owned and controlled by a group of farmers. It is established and managed in order to meet the mutual needs of its owners/members.

Rural Development Support Team EU Turkish Cypriot community support The purpose of a Producer Group The purpose of a producer group is to unite separate and independent farmers, in order to help them pool their activities, become more competitive through economies of scale and so increase their individual income and security on the market.

Rural Development Support Team EU Turkish Cypriot community support The aims and activities of a Producer Group The aims and activities of a Producer Group 1.Common production standards for a specific crop (or defined group of crops) 2.Jointly marketing production outputs including preparation for sale or processing 3.Reduce overall costs either through sharing resources, such as machinery or jointly purchasing inputs

Rural Development Support Team EU Turkish Cypriot community support Advantages of Producer Groups As a group of farmers it is easier to overcome economy of scale problems in production, marketing, sale and processing Reduce production costs, increase product quality, strengthen members competitiveness, and promote improved market access Higher EU contribution in this grant scheme (and in the future specific targeted aid in the EU Common Agricultural Policy)

Rural Development Support Team EU Turkish Cypriot community support Under this grant scheme A Producer Group shall have a minimum of 6 farmers (natural or legal persons) as shareholders (of the company) or members (of the cooperative) and created for the purpose of adopting common production standards and jointly marketing production outputs including preparation for sale or processing.

Rural Development Support Team EU Turkish Cypriot community support Under this grant scheme Under this grant scheme Producer groups shall have legal personality or sufficient legal capacity to exercise rights and take obligations under the local rules in force. The following legal forms are eligible: Cooperatives; Limited Liability Companies and Shareholding Companies.

Rural Development Support Team EU Turkish Cypriot community support For Democratic management and equality Each member should have the right to participate in the management and control of the producer group No member of the producer group has more than 20% of the voting rights. Additionally, 20% of the members may not have more than 50% of the voting rights Under this grant scheme

Rural Development Support Team EU Turkish Cypriot community support Under this grant scheme The producer group should have a statute/by-law signed by all members governing the internal affairs of the organization and defining the objectives of the group and regulating members rights and responsibilities especially on: (a) production, in particular related to product quality (for example use of Global GAP, Integrated Pest Management, Organic Farming etc); (b) marketing (based on the principle that the producer group sells on behalf of the producer) and the minimum quota of production that the members shall process/sell through the producer group; (c) sharing production information, with special reference to harvesting and stocks.

Rural Development Support Team EU Turkish Cypriot community support Thank You For Your Attention