the improvement of agricultural structures and the modernisation of farms in order to achieve greater productive efficiency and improve the competitiveness of agriculture are a priority objective of the Spanish agricultural policy.

These objectives, embodied in Law 19/1995, of 4 July, of Modernization of Agricultural Holdings, must be achieved within the structural policy of the European Union and therefore, with a conception and criteria The Commission has also proposed a number of measures to be taken.

Consequently, this provision regulates both the actions taken under the common action provided for by Community regulations and those which are considered appropriate to promote the solution of problems. specifically national structural funds.

Royal Decree 1887/1991 of 30 December 1991 on the improvement of agricultural structures established and regulated an aid scheme in accordance with the common action provided for in Council Regulation (EEC) 2328/91 of 15 July to improve the efficiency of agricultural structures. It also established a system of financial co-responsibility between the General Administration of the State and the Administrations of the Autonomous Communities.

The Royal Decree 1887/1991 has undergone several amendments since its entry into force, as well as the segregation of certain precepts, which were incorporated into other rules; all this, as a result of changes in the Community regulations.

Moreover, the promulgation of Law 19/1995 of 4 July, of Modernization of Agricultural Holdings, establishes as a basic reference of action the concept of priority exploitation, defined by criteria linked to the holder of the holding and the economic viability of the holding which justify the granting of public support in a preferential manner; in accordance with this approach, the Law precept, in Article 7, the granting of preferential treatment to the holders of priority holdings in the granting of the aid laid down for the improvement of agricultural production structures, without prejudice to the provisions of Community legislation.

Also, this Law amending Law 83/1980 of 31 December of Rustic Leases, reducing the minimum duration of lease contracts, empowers the Government to encourage longer term contracts when the exploitation of the lessee reaches or maintains the condition of priority and collects among its purposes the encouragement of the formation of holdings of sufficient size to ensure its viability, objective intimately linked to the structural measures already laid down in the preceding legislation, albeit on a transitional basis, In particular, in the second transitional provision of Royal Decree 1887/1991, which provided for the possibility of granting aid in certain cases for the purchase of land as a means of achieving the viability of the holding.

The application of Royal Decree 1887/1991 has yielded satisfactory results in terms of improvement of the farms, generational replacement of the headlines and other actions. However, in order to improve some aspects, incorporating new aid lines and collecting in a single text the successive amendments is advisable to enact a new provision that responds to the current situation.

This Royal Decree, consisting of three chapters and twelve annexes, maintains the essential content of Royal Decree 1887/1991 and its amendments, as well as the system of management and financing established in it, although it extends its rules on the application of certain aid to those holdings which are not eligible for aid do not meet all the requirements laid down in Regulation 2328/91 but may be eligible for financing by the European Union in application of operational programmes within the framework of Council Regulation (EEC) No 4256/88 of 19 December 1988, and establishes new lines derived from the Law of Modernization of Agricultural Holdings in whose purposes and contents the Royal Decree as a whole is framed, some of which may not be subject to Community financing.

Consequently, the aid scheme includes those for: investment in plans for the improvement of agricultural holdings, the first installation of young farmers, the introduction of farm accountancy agriculture, certain agricultural groupings and associations providing services to holdings, collective investment, improvement of the agricultural professional qualification, land acquisition and incentives for longer-term leases.

Each of these lines of support stimulates or encourages actions in the agricultural sector which complement each other in order to achieve the objective of improving agricultural structures.

Aid for investment in the improvement of agricultural holdings is primarily intended for the holders of holdings whose main activity is the agricultural production carried out on their holding or which they develop in In addition, other complementary activities. They may also be beneficiaries, although with certain restrictions on the level of aid achievable, certain holders of holdings who share the agricultural activities and the complementary activities carried out on their holding with another commitment land outside the farm.

In the holdings under aid, certain requirements are laid down as regards the maximum amount of the unit income prior to the implementation of the improvement plan and the objectives of the investment plan, and determine the sectoral constraints for the containment of surplus production. In any case, the economic rationality of the plan is required.

The amount of aid is fixed on the basis of the location of the holdings, taking precedence over those located in the areas considered to be disadvantaged by Community legislation and the movable or immovable nature of the investments, giving more help to the latter.

The modalities of aid are set out in a mixed system of capital grants for reduced instalments of investment and loan subsidies under the partnership agreements with financial institutions. In such a system, the subsidised loans will be allocated by the beneficiaries to the financing of the non-subsidised part of the investments which are the subject of aid. These loans with a preferential interest, together with the subsidy applied, allow the capitalisation of holdings with reduced financial costs.

This system is supplemented by the possibility of extending the aid to cover one or more principal amortisation annuities, where the maximum total aid limits set, and to subsidise the cost of the guarantee of the loan granted by a security institution, where there is no other guarantee.

Within this system, differentiated treatment is given, increasing the limit of the capital grant to the improvement plans presented by small producers. Special treatment is also given to plans which have certain objectives which are considered to be of interest, such as the productive diversification of farms, improved water management, adaptation to sectoral rules and the production of organic products, as well as plans for holdings located in special areas such as national parks and their areas of influence and protected natural areas. In the framework of differentiated sub-sector treatment, specific attention is given to dairy farmers.

The cooperative holdings have a specific treatment increasing the amount of the investments to be granted in respect of the one set out in Royal Decree 1887/1991, in line with the introduced by Regulation (EEC) No 2328/91.

order to stimulate the rejuvenation of the sector and to accelerate the incorporation of the young population into the agricultural profession, special aids are established to support both the first installation of young people in agriculture and the implementation of plans for improvement in farms by young people already in place.

They are the subject of support, in addition to the facilities of young people as farmers in the main title, those in which the main dedication is achieved by sharing agricultural and complementary activities on the farm.

The line of aid for collective investments regulated up to the present by Royal Decree 995/1987 is extended to actions located in the less-favoured areas in which livestock farming is a marginal activity. The application to this line of the mixed system of capital subsidy and interest rate subsidy is also envisaged, although the capital subsidy is given greater weight, given the relatively small amount of large part of these investments, its (a) frequent implementation by groups without legal personality and their application in less-favoured areas.

Finally, aid is established for the acquisition of land aimed at the achievement and maintenance of priority farms and incentives are provided for the longer-term leases to be established and maintained. priority holdings by the respective lessees.

Regarding the application of the aid system provided for in this Royal Decree, the co-responsibility between administrations is reflected in the coordination of its financing through the corresponding collaboration agreements. The participation of the General Administration of the State in such funding, as well as systems of coordination, exchange of information and monitoring of the programmes, is established.

This Royal Decree is without prejudice to the direct applicability of the Community Regulations, in accordance with State competence in the field of bases and coordination of the general planning of economic activity. Under Article 149.1.13 of the Constitution, both the Autonomous Communities and the sectors concerned have been consulted and the procedure provided for in Article 29 of Regulation (EEC) No 2328/91 has been completed and Article 93.3 of the Treaty on the Union.

Under the proposal of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in agreement with the Council of State and after deliberation by the Council of Ministers at its meeting on 9 February 1996,

D I S P O N G O:

CHAPTER I

Object and definitions

Article 1. Object.

In order to contribute to the improvement of agricultural structures and to the modernization of agricultural holdings, an aid scheme is established, in accordance with Law 19/1995 of 4 July, of Modernisation of the Farm Agriculture and Community legislation.

Article 2. Definitions.

For the purposes of this Royal Decree the definitions and criteria laid down in Community legislation, in Law 19/1995 and in Annex I shall apply.

CHAPTER II

Aids

Article 3. Helplines.

1. The aid lines set out in this Royal Decree will apply to:

(a) Investments in agricultural holdings through improvement plans.

b) The first installation of young farmers.

c) The introduction of accounting.

d) Service pools.

e) Collective investments.

f) Professional qualification.

g) Land acquisition.

h) The longest-running rustic leases.

2. Aid lines (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) and (f) shall be taken in accordance with the common action provided for in Community legislation.

3. (g) and (h) shall be of a national nature.

4. The maximum amounts of investments and aid, expressed in European units of account (ECU) in Community legislation, are converted into pesetas in this Royal Decree by means of the conversion rate resulting from the legislation Community law.

SECTION 1. IMPROVEMENT PLANS

Article 4. Beneficiaries.

1. In general, it will be necessary in order to be able to apply for and access support for investments in agricultural holdings by means of improvement plans that natural or legal persons fulfil the following conditions:

(a) Be the holder of an agricultural holding.

(b) Submit an improvement plan for their holding, as set out in Annex 2.

c) undertake to carry out the agricultural activity on the holding subject to the aid for at least five years from the date of the granting of the aid.

d) undertake to carry out, where appropriate, a simplified accounting of the revenue and expenditure of the holding.

e) Justify to be aware of its tax obligations and social security.

2. Natural persons shall also comply with:

a) Being a professional farmer.

b) Possession sufficient professional training.

c) Be affiliated with the corresponding Social Security Regime.

d) Be eighteen years old and not have completed sixty-five years.

e) Reside in the region where it radiates its exploitation or in some of the border areas.

3. Legal persons, in addition to those identified in general, shall comply with:

a) That the main activity is the agricultural-livestock farming.

(b) In the case of a priority agricultural holding.

4. For the purposes of this Article, where the holding belongs to a community of goods, it may be the beneficiary of aid to investments only by means of improvement plans in the case of an indivision pact for a a minimum period of six years from the date of submission of the application and one of the members of the Community, at least, meeting the requirements specified in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article.

5. Aid for improvement plans directed at the beneficiaries defined in this Article may be granted only on holdings whose unit income of work, calculated in accordance with the criteria set out in Annex 2, is less than 120 per 100 of the reference income.

Article 5. Investments subject to aid.

Investment aid through improvement plans will apply to those intended for:

(a) Improving the living and working conditions of farmers and farm workers.

b) Qualitative improvement and reordering of production according to the needs of the market and, where appropriate, with a view to adapting to Community quality standards.

c) The diversification of productive activities in farms, especially through tourism, hunting, craft activities or the manufacture and sale of their products on their own farm.

d) The adaptation of farms with a view to reducing production costs, saving energy or water, or the incorporation of new technologies, including computerisation and telematics.

e) The improvement of the hygiene conditions of livestock farms and animal welfare, in compliance with national and Community standards.

f) Protection and improvement of soil, plant cover and the environment.

Article 6. Sectoral constraints.

The granting of aid for investments referred to in the previous Article may be refused where such investments have the effect of increasing production on the holding of products which do not have normal outlets for the market. In any event, the granting of the aid will be conditional on the provisions relating to the management and general planning of the agricultural activity, in particular those relating to sectoral constraints on production and the set out in Annex 3 to this provision.

Article 7. Type and amount of aid.

1. Investment aid may consist of capital grants, interest subsidies, a grant of part of the number of annuities for the repayment of principal, aid to cover the costs of the guarantee, or a combination thereof.

2. The investments exempted and the criteria for granting the aid will be those set out in Annex 4 to this provision.

3. The volume of investment to be assisted will be up to 14,860,000 pesetas per unit of agricultural labour (UTA), with a ceiling of 29,720,000 pesetas per farm.

4. The maximum amount of aid expressed as a percentage of the investment amount shall be:

(a) In the less-favoured areas referred to in Articles 2 and 3 of Directive 75 /268/EEC:

1. The 45 per 100 in the case of real estate.

2. The 30 per 100 in the case of other types of investment.

b) In other zones:

1. The 35 per 100 in the case of real estate.

2. The 20 per 100 in the case of other types of investment.

5. By way of derogation from the above paragraphs, where the applicant is a professional farmer who does not fulfil the conditions of the professional farmer with agricultural and livestock farming as referred to in paragraph 21 of Annex 1, application of the conditions set out in Annex 5.

6. Where the beneficiary is a young farmer who, at the same time as his/her incorporation or in the following five years, submits an improvement plan for his/her holding, he may obtain additional aid of up to 25 per 100 of the aid to be granted to you for the abovementioned improvement plan. Such additional aid shall be applied exclusively to a minimum of one or more repayment annuities on the loan if such a loan exists. In another case, it will be paid as an increase in the capital subsidy.

7. In the case of holdings situated in the Canary Islands which fulfil the conditions laid down in Article 2.1 of Royal Decree 1318/1992 of 30 October 1992 on special measures of an agricultural structural nature for the Canary Islands, the amount of the aid shall be 7,430,000 pesetas per holding.

Article 8. Capital subsidy.

1. As a general rule and with the exception of the following paragraphs, the capital grant shall be up to 16 per 100 of the first two million, at most, of the investment provided for in the improvement plan and may be up to 20 per 100 in the less-favoured areas.

2. However, the capital grant shall be up to 24 per 100 applied up to the first four million of the investment envisaged in the following improvement plans:

a) Improvement plans to be made by small farmers.

(b) Improvement plans aimed at the diversification of the activity in the holding by means of investments of agricultural, livestock, forestry, hunting, tourism, crafts, processing and sales of products agricultural, natural-space conservation or any other that meets the same objective of diversification, provided that investments in new activities exceed 50 per 100 of the total investment.

(c) Improvement plans to be carried out on holdings located in municipalities included in national parks and in their socio-economic areas, as well as on holdings located in municipalities included in the areas protected by the legislation of the Autonomous Communities.

(d) Improvement plans to be carried out by livestock producers of bovine, ovine and/or caprine milk, within the framework of the regulatory standards for these production sectors and in the terms set out in Annex 6.

e) Plans for improvement to be carried out in the framework of other sectoral programmes established by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, which meet some of the objectives set out in Article 5.

f) Improvement plans to be carried out by farmers with irrigation exploitation to those who affect collective improvement plans or who, being individual water dealers, present an individual investment plan, provided that, in both cases, these plans have among their objectives the most efficient use of irrigation water.

3. Improvement plans for the production of organic products may be subject to aid of four additional points as a percentage of the aid which may be provided for in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, provided that complies with the provisions of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 of 24 June on organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs and Royal Decree 1852/1993 of 22 October 1993 on production organic farming and its indication in agricultural products and foodstuffs.

Article 9. Interest subsidy.

1. The aid in the form of interest subsidies shall apply to loans granted under this section of this Royal Decree, the amount of which may not exceed 90 per 100 of the difference between the investment approved and the grant of the capital regulated by the previous article.

2. The interest allowance will have the following maximum amounts:

a) 8.5 points of interest annually in the following cases:

1. º In holdings located in municipalities included in districts of less-favoured areas in accordance with Community legislation.

2. On holdings where the provisions of Article 8 (2) or (3) apply.

b) 7 points of interest annually in the remaining cases.

3. This allowance shall be applied in such a way that the nominal interest rate resulting from the loan holder's satisfaction is not less than 3 per 100 for the cases referred to in subparagraph (a) above, or 4 per 100 for the cases to which it is refers to paragraph (b) above.

4. In any event, the interest rate subsidy, expressed as a percentage of the investment, together with the aid in the form of a capital grant or the guarantee, may not exceed the limit in each case.

Article 10. Grant for the minorisation of amortisation annuities.

1. The subsidy to minorate one or more repayment annuities of the loan shall only be granted where the interest rate subsidy and the capital grant, where it is provided, in the relevant support line, have been applied. in the maximum amount.

2. In that case, the balance favourable to the beneficiary up to the maximum amount provided for in Article 7 shall be applied to a minimum of one or more repayment annuities of the loan, once the investment has been certified aid object.

Article 11. Number of improvement plans.

1. The number of improvement plans per holding and beneficiary to be approved for a period of six years shall be limited to three, without the total investment volume during that period exceeding the limits set out in this Royal Decree.

For these purposes, the set of agricultural investment plans made by any holder of the same holding shall be attributed to a single holding.

2. The aid referred to in this section may be granted to holdings which, after carrying out the improvement plans which, where appropriate, have been necessary, continue to comply with the conditions laid down by them for the benefit of the for the implementation of those plans.

Article 12. Amendments.

1. Where changes to the improvement plan relating to production or to the investment programme are made, a supplementary or alternative improvement plan shall be submitted, except in the case of those of the smallest entity in which the improvement plan is The competent authority of the Autonomous Community shall implicitly recognize the technical and economic validity of the plan of improvement implemented, in order to ensure that the certification, issued by the latter, is sufficient to carry out the investments that the plan includes.

2. By way of derogation from Article 9.1 in cases where the beneficiary does not implement the improvement plan for which aid has been received or substantial deviations are produced between the investment made and the investment approved for the implementation of the plan or the formalised loan, the criteria set out in Annex 7 shall apply.

SECTION 2. YOUNG FARMERS

Article 13. First installation.

1. Special aid is provided for young farmers who make their first installation under the conditions set out in Annex 1 to this provision, provided that they meet the following requirements:

(a) To have a sufficient level of professional training at the time of their installation or to undertake to acquire it within two years, from the time of their installation.

(b) To be installed on a holding that requires a volume of work equivalent to at least one UTA or to be committed to reaching that volume within a maximum period of two years from its installation.

(c) Commit to the exercise of agricultural activity for five years from the date of the granting of the aid.

d) Keep or fix your residence in the region where you radiate the farm or in the border areas.

2. The application for the aid must be submitted before the first installation of the petitioner or within the first six months after the applicant's installation.

3. The granting of the aid shall require the submission of an operating plan reflecting the degree of economic viability and the situation of the holding in which the young person is installed and provides for an income from that same or more than 35 per 100 of the reference income.

4. The operating plan will not be required in the event that the young person who is installed presents an improvement plan.

Article 14. Embodiments of the first installation.

The first installation of a young farmer can be performed using the following modes:

a) Access to the exclusive or shared ownership of the agricultural holding, by purchase, inheritance, succession agreement, donation, lease, aparceria or similar legal figures assuming the young person who is installed, at least, 50 percent 100 of the risks and the civil, fiscal and social responsibilities of the management of the farm.

b) Access to the co-ownership of a priority agricultural holding.

(c) Integration as a partner in an associative entity with legal personality, pre-existing or newly established, which is the holder of a priority agricultural holding.

Article 15. Aid to the first installation.

1. The aid to the first installation of young farmers, which is intended to assist expenditure and investments resulting from it, may consist of:

(a) An interest rate subsidy whose updated amount does not exceed the figure of EUR 2,475,000 pesetas, resulting from the application of a reduction in the preferential interest rate of the institutions for a maximum of 15 years. credit, established, where appropriate, in the financial arrangements for first-installation loans.

(b) An operating premium, the maximum amount of which may be 2,475,000 pesetas, which may be replaced, in whole or in part, by an equivalent interest subsidy.

2. The criteria for applying these aids are those set out in Annex 8 to this provision. In any event, the first installation carried out under the co-ownership scheme referred to in paragraph (b) of the previous Article shall be considered to be preferential in the granting of aid.

SECTION 3. INTRODUCTION OF ACCOUNTING

Article 16. Aid for the keeping of accounts.

1. Aid to encourage the introduction of accountancy on agricultural holdings may be granted to farmers with a major agricultural or livestock farming effort or who do not have priority agricultural holdings. Such aid shall be distributed at least for the first four years in which the beneficiaries bear the management accounts for their holdings. The amount of such aid shall be between 115,000 and 247,000 pesetas per beneficiary and for the total of the four years.

2. The accounting shall comprise at least the following:

(a) A description of the general characteristics of the holding, in particular of the factors and means of production used.

b) The establishment of an annual opening and closing inventory.

(c) The systematic and regular seat during the accounting year of the various movements in cash or in kind affecting the holding.

End each year with the presentation of: a balance sheet and an operating account, and the data necessary to assess the effectiveness of the management of the holding as a whole, in particular the income of work by UTA and the income of the farmers, as well as the precise ones to assess the profitability of the main activities of the holding.

Article 17. Anonymous use of the data provided.

When the farmer benefits from the aid provided for in the previous article and his exploitation is selected for the use of his data for the purposes of managing or carrying out technical-economic studies, or inclusion in the National Agricultural Accounting Network (RECAN), shall provide the accounting data of its exploitation that is required, guaranteeing its anonymity by application of the statistical confidentiality in accordance with Chapter III of the Law 12/1989, of 9 May, on public statistical function.

SECTION 4. POOLS

Article 18. Groups of mutual aid services.

1. Aid may be granted to groups recognised by the Autonomous Communities which have been established after 1 April 1985, the aim of which is to:

(a) Mutual assistance between holdings, including the use of new technologies and practices for the protection and improvement of the environment and the conservation of the natural space.

b) The introduction of alternative agricultural practices.

c) The more rational use of the means of agricultural production in common.

d) The common exploitation of land or livestock.

Such aid shall be used to contribute to the payment of annual management, operational and start-up costs for a maximum of five years following the start of the assisted activity, the beginning of which shall be accredited.

2. The amount of the aid shall be fixed on the basis of the number of participants and the activity carried out in common, without in any event being greater than 3,716 000 pesetas per group or 70 per 100 of the amount of expenditure covered by the aid.

3. The Autonomous Communities may define the legal form of such groupings and the conditions of cooperation of their members.

Article 19. Replacement service pools.

1. Aid may be granted to agricultural associations whose object is the creation of replacement services on the holding. This aid shall be intended to contribute to the coverage of the management, operation and start-up costs incurred in the initial phase of the service.

2. The replacement service shall be authorised by the Autonomous Community and shall at least employ a full-time, qualified person for the work to be carried out.

3. The Autonomous Communities may determine the conditions for the authorisation of replacement services and in particular:

a) The legal form.

(b) Conditions relating to management and accounting.

c) The substitution cases, which may include the replacement of the holder or any person working on the holding.

d) Its duration, which must be at least ten years.

e) The minimum number of affiliated farmers, which may not be less than twenty.

4. The aid may not exceed the amount of pesetas 2,973,000 by qualified staff employed full-time in the replacement activities or 70 per 100 of the expenditure covered by the aid. This amount shall be allocated between the first five years of each staff member's activity and may be distributed in a degressive manner during that period.

Article 20. Business management groupings of holdings.

1. It may be granted to agricultural groupings and associations which so request aid, the object of which is the creation or increase of the management of the holdings and which is intended to contribute to the coverage of the costs of the those.

2. The aid shall be granted for the activity of officials responsible for contributing individually to the technical, economic, financial and administrative management of agricultural holdings.

3. The farm management service shall be authorised by the Autonomous Community and shall use at least one qualified agent in full time to carry out the duties referred to in paragraph 2.

4. The Autonomous Communities may determine the conditions necessary for the authorisation of the business management services and in particular:

a) The legal form.

(b) Conditions relating to management and accounting.

c) Its duration, which shall be at least ten years.

(d) The minimum number of affiliated farmers, which may not be less than 20.

5. The amount of the aid may not exceed 920,000 pesetas per staff member employed in full time to carry out the activities referred to in paragraph 2. This amount shall be divided into the first five years of the activity of each staff member. to distribute in a degressive manner throughout this period.

6. The system of support provided for in paragraph 5 may be replaced by a system of support for the introduction of the management of agricultural holdings, for the benefit of farmers who are engaged in agriculture as their main dedication and who use the services referred to in paragraph 1.

In this case, the aid may not exceed 123,000 pesetas per holding, which must be distributed over two years at least.

7. Where the group benefiting from such aid is selected by the bodies of the General Administration of the State or the Administrations of the Autonomous Communities, with the aim of carrying out technical or statistical studies, based on their accounting and management data, which will help farmers to make better decisions, must make available to them the data and results of the management of the farms of their partners, with the guarantee of anonymity in application of statistical confidentiality in accordance with Chapter III of Law 12/1989 of 9 May 1989 on Public Statistical Function.

SECTION 5 COLLECTIVE INVESTMENTS

Article 21. Investments subject to aid.

1. Collective investments shall be considered to be carried out jointly by several holders of agricultural holdings, in order to satisfy the needs common to them, without prejudice to the material performance by third parties of the work or improvement object of the investment.

2. The aid covered by this Section may be applied to collective investments in the municipalities included in the less-favoured and mountain areas listed in the Community lists and, where appropriate, throughout the territory of the Community. the Objective 1 regions and regions 5b), which are intended for the purposes set out in Annex 9 to this provision.

Article 22. Beneficiaries.

1. Aid shall be granted to holders of agricultural holdings and to groups and associations thereof, where they make collective investments and fulfil the following requirements:

(a) Credit the existence of the agreement of the holders of the holdings concerned in order to bring the investment under aid into effect, including the financing provided for and the participation of those holders.

(b) Commit to maintain the work or improvement of the aided investment for a period of not less than five years from the date of certification of its implementation.

In cases where several holders of agricultural holdings require collective investments in areas, the ownership of which corresponds to local entities with a territorial scope equal to or less than the municipality, susceptible to agricultural use, and where, on account of this ownership or of the existing legal relations, the said investments cannot be carried out by such holders of holdings, the said entities may be considered beneficiaries of the aid, if they make the investment subject to aid and always the above requirements are met. In such cases, the agreements and commitments referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this paragraph shall be jointly concluded by the holders of the holdings concerned and the local authority.

2. Farmers who, on an individual basis, make investments in mountain areas, the object of which is one of those specifically listed in Annex 9, may be eligible for aid for such investments, provided that they meet the following conditions: requirements:

(a) To be the holder of an agricultural holding directly affected by the object of the investment for which the aid is sought.

b) Reside in the region where the affected holding is located.

(c) Justify the appropriateness of the individual character of the investment to be supported.

(d) Commit to maintain the work or improvement subject to the aided investment for a period of at least five years from the date of certification of the completion of the work.

3. Where appropriate, the beneficiaries must demonstrate compliance with their tax obligations and with regard to social security as a function of the participation of each in the collective investment.

4. Beneficiaries may transfer to third parties the works or improvements which are the subject of aid before the end of the five-year period laid down above, provided that the subrogation is recorded by the third party to the obligations as a result of the granting of the aid, in particular in the maintenance of the aided work or improvement and the right of access to the use by the participants in the investment. In the event of non-compliance with the aforementioned subrogation requirement, the payment of the aid shall be required. The amount to be repaid shall include the amount of the amount received as a capital grant, with the legal interest established, as well as the amount which has been satisfied with the interest rate subsidy and the other aid linked to the Bonus loan, leaving this loan untied from the special conditions that could affect you.

Article 23. Type and amount of aid.

1. Aid for the promotion of investments referred to in this Section may consist of each beneficiary, depending on the amount of its economic participation in the collective investment, in a grant of capital, in a subsidy interest on a loan or a combination of both. In cases where the aid includes an interest subsidy, part of it may be allocated to the total or partial payment of the guarantee management fee granted by the State-owned Agricultural Guarantee Company (SAECA) or another entity, in the the framework of the agreements signed. Where the aid granted comprises a capital grant of the maximum amount resulting from application and an interest subsidy from the maximum applicable points and the sum of the two, plus, where appropriate, the amount of the aid to the guarantee, the aid does not reach the the maximum aid ceiling which, in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article, corresponds to the balance favourable to the beneficiary may be applied to subsidising one or more annuities of amortisation of the bond loan, certified the realisation of the investment to be supported.

2. Whatever the form of aid to the beneficiary, the amount of aid shall in no case exceed the following limits:

(a) In the case of investments and areas referred to in paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d) of Annex 9, 45 per 100 of the amount of investment approved.

(b) In the case of investments referred to in paragraph (e) of Annex 9:

1. º 40 per 100 of the amount of investment approved in the case of investments co-financed by the European Community.

2. º 30 per 100 of the amount of investment approved in the investments not included in the previous indent and which are subject to aid without co-financing by the European Community.

3. The total amount of aid granted to the group of beneficiaries of collective investment shall not exceed the following limits:

a) 24.779,000 pesetas per approved investment. (b) 123,000 pesetas per hectare of grassland or upgraded or equipped high mountain grass.

c) 1,205,000 pesetas per hectare transformed into irrigated or improved irrigation.

4. The criteria for applying the aid in the form of a capital subsidy and interest subsidy are those set out in Annex 10.

SECTION 6. AID TO PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATION

Article 24. Modality of aid for vocational qualifications.

1. In order to improve the professional qualification of the agricultural sector, in order to meet the needs of modern agriculture, through courses and seminars, as well as training and practical learning placements in public or private enterprises and institutions, Support may be granted in:

(a) Grants to young people attending courses on agricultural vocational training, with a higher age than that corresponding to compulsory schooling.

b) Grants for assistance to courses and grants for the development of training stays by leaders, workers and partners of farmers 'and cooperatives' associations, with a view to improving the organization and effectiveness corporate and business of such entities.

(c) Grants to holders and family members of priority agricultural holdings and to agricultural workers on behalf of others, in order to assist them in training and vocational training courses.

d) Grants to young people for the assistance of vocational training courses necessary to acquire the level of training required, in each case, in this Royal Decree.

2. The actions covered by this Article shall not include courses or courses which form part of normal programmes or schemes of agricultural or higher education.

Article 25. Criteria and amounts of aid.

1. The criteria for granting the aid will be similar to those laid down by the Ministry of Education and Science in the calls for the general aid scheme for the study. Its implementation will ensure the principle of equal opportunities which the grant of training grants presides. The advertising phase of the call and processing of the application for a grant and its management will be carried out by the Autonomous Communities.

2. The maximum amounts of the grant per beneficiary shall be:

(a) 250,000 pesetas for courses of regulated training with a teaching duration of one academic year.

b) 100 000 pesetas for non-regulated courses and training activities with a minimum duration of 150 hours.

c) 50,000 pesetas for courses or training activities of less than 150 hours.

SECTION 7 NATIONAL AID FOR THE PROMOTION OF LAND MOBILITY

Article 26. Land acquisition.

1. Aid may be granted to holders of agricultural holdings, natural or legal persons, for the acquisition of land, in order to enable their exploitation to be considered as a priority.

2. Aid for the acquisition of land may be granted to the partners of a legal person holding an agricultural holding who fulfils the conditions of origin of the income and the working time laid down for the professional farmer, conditional on the transfer of the use of the land acquired to the said holding and on the extent to which it reaches the necessary requirements to be considered as a priority.

3. Aid may be granted to small farmers who are the holders of a priority agricultural holding, for the acquisition of land belonging to that holding which they have grown on a lease basis, provided that, after the acquisition, the holding maintains its status as a priority.

4. The aid may be applied to a volume of investment in land acquisition, the amount of which is not more than 7,430,000 pesetas per unit of agricultural work employed on the holding after the investment has been made, nor to 14,860,000 pesetas per unit. beneficiary.

5. The aid shall consist of an interest subsidy on a loan, where appropriate, to the Conventions referred to in Article 30, the amount of which may not exceed 90 per 100 of the value of the purchase of the land acquired. The allowance shall be up to 6 points of interest per year, so that the interest resulting from the loan holder is not less than 4 per 100 per year.

Article 27. Incentives for longer-term, rustic leases.

1. Aid may be granted to land lessors who conclude lease agreements of a duration of eight years or more, provided that, by means of the lease, the holding of which the lessee holds (a) or maintain the status of priority. Under no circumstances may such aid be applied to tenancies which, reaching the minimum duration by the initial agreement or by extension or successive extensions, have been concluded before the entry into force of the Agreement. Royal Decree.

2. The aid will consist of a grant equivalent to 10 per 100 of the agreed income for the first eight years of the contract, which will be made effective through annual payments, once the perception by the lessor of the contract is established. corresponding annual income. By maintaining the indicated ratio of 10 per 100, the annual payments of the aid may absorb the changes in the agreed income which are produced in accordance with the provisions of Law 83/1980 of 31 December of Rustic Leases, during the eight-year period pointed out.

3. No beneficiary may receive more than one aid for the lease of the same rustic estate.

4. The termination of the lease for aid before the end of the minimum period of eight years to which it is applied shall result in the cancellation of the part of the aid corresponding to the years between that termination and termination of that period and the repayment by the beneficiary of the part of the aid received. However, if the termination of the contract is caused by causes beyond the will of the lessor, such a return will not be required and if, in such a case, the lessor would celebrate in the period of one year from the termination of the contract, new contract of lease of the same farm, with another tenant holding a priority agricultural holding, with a minimum duration of eight years, the lessor may apply again for the aid corresponding to the period of time to be paid, applying to the new contract the remaining requirements and conditions expressed in this article.

5. In order to obtain this aid, the contract must be written and the amount of the agreed income shall be entered in pesetas. Payment of the aid shall be conditional on the beneficiary's accreditation having satisfied the corresponding tax on the transfer of assets and documented legal acts.

SECTION 8 TERRITORIAL AID REFERRED TO IN THE OPERATIONAL PROGRAMMES

Article 28. Calculation of certain aids.

For the purposes of the following Article and Annex 11, the aid regulated by the Autonomous Communities which are included in the approved operational programmes of the Regional Development Plan of the European Union shall be eligible. Objective 1 regions and the Rural Development Programmes for Objective 5 (b) areas eligible for the financing of the EAGGF Guidance Section in the framework of Titles II and III of Council Regulation (EEC) No 4256/88 of 19 December 1988. respond to the following conditions:

1. Aid to professional farmers for the construction, purchase or packaging of the dwelling which constitutes their habitual residence and is linked to the premises, located in the same building or in other buildings, intended for to meet the needs arising from the agricultural activities or the accompanying measures provided for in this Royal Decree.

The aid co-financed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food shall not exceed 30 per 100 of the amount of the computable investment, and shall not exceed the amount of 7,000,000 pesetas made by the beneficiary.

2. Aid to professional farmers, priority associative farms and groups in which 50 per 100, at least, of their members are professional farmers. The aid shall be used for investments in the provision of services to third parties in agricultural activity, without prejudice to their use on the holdings of individual beneficiaries or members of the groups identified.

The aid co-financed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food shall not exceed 30 per 100 of the amount of the computable investment and may not exceed the amount of 7,000,000 pesetas, in the case of beneficiaries individual, and of 28,000,000 pesetas in the case of a group.

3. Aid for farmers who, by not meeting the requirements set out in Article 4, are affected by collective schemes to improve irrigation or be individual water dealers. The aid must be used exclusively for investments which have among its objectives the most efficient use of irrigation water.

Aid for investments which comply with Article 6 shall be taken into account and the volume of which does not exceed the limits laid down in paragraph 3 of the

Article 7, without the computable amount of each aid being able to exceed 75 per 100 of the percentage limits laid down in paragraph 4.

CHAPTER III

Financing and processing of aid

Article 29. Financing of the aid.

1. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food will finance 55 per 100 in 1996 and 50 per 100 in 1997 and in successive years, of the aid granted under the provisions of this Royal Decree.

2. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food may, for the implementation of the financing of all the aid granted, conclude agreements on cooperation with the Autonomous Communities in which the Following aspects:

(a) The corresponding maximum investment volume under aid.

b) Maximum commitments to be made by each administration, with the expression of their respective percentages of participation in the overall funding of the aid as well as the mechanisms to make them effective, according to the criteria set out in Annex 11.

(c) The measures to be taken by each Administration for its proper implementation, in particular the necessary regulatory developments, the organization, the information to be provided by both administrations, and the composition and functioning of monitoring committees.

d) Procedures for coordination and evaluation to ensure that the objectives of this Royal Decree and the requirements of Community legislation are met.

e) Mechanisms of financial compensation between the two administrations for, on closed exercises, the percentage of participation established for each year.

(f) The review mechanism for the maximum agreed investment volume for adaptation to the overall development of the programme.

Article 30. Collaboration agreements with financial institutions.

1. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, through the General Secretariat for Rural Development and Conservation of Nature, may sign agreements with public and private credit institutions, as well as with agricultural cooperatives. they have a credit section in order to facilitate the appropriations and to implement the aid linked to them in the form of interest subsidies.

2. The requirements to be met by the cooperatives and the criteria under which the abovementioned conventions will be carried out and managed are those set out in Annex 12 to this provision.

3. The Committee of the Government of the Government for Economic Affairs, on the proposal of the Ministers of Economy and Finance and of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, will set annually the maximum volume of financial resources to agree with the entities to which it is refers to paragraph 1 of this Article. The Commission, acting on a proposal from both Ministers, will also authorize the preferential interest rate to be granted to the financial institutions as a whole, at the time of the establishment of new cooperation agreements to which it is refers to this Article.

Article 31. Collaboration agreements with entities of caution.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, through the General Secretariat for Rural Development and Conservation of Nature, may sign agreements with the State Society of Agrarian Caution (SAECA) and other entities. In order to provide aid beneficiaries with the necessary guarantees for their access to the loans covered by the agreements referred to in the previous Article, the aid is to be provided to the beneficiaries.

Article 32. Allocation of the maximum amount of auxiliable investment.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, consulted by the Autonomous Communities, shall fix each year the distribution among them of the financial resources referred to in Article 30 (3), establishing the quotas. (i) initial ceilings for each as a result of applying objective criteria which take account of the relative weight of agriculture in each Autonomous Community and its modernisation needs.

The allocation of the initial annual maximum quotas, as a result of the previously mentioned distribution, will be related to the quantification of objectives in each Autonomous Community and, in particular, to the number of beneficiaries. of each of the lines of aid covered by this Royal Decree.

The aforementioned volume of eligible investment will have a constant monitoring in its implementation and may be subject to review, in accordance with the Autonomous Communities, for their eventual reallocation between them in order to the evolution of the programme both in its territorial aspect and by aid lines.

Article 33. Processing of the aid.

1. The processing of applications for aid covered by this Royal Decree, the decision granting or refusing to grant aid and the certification of the implementation of the actions to be granted and the fulfilment of the commitments entered into. the beneficiaries shall correspond to the Autonomous Communities, as well as the payment of the grants in accordance with the provisions of Annex 11.

2. The holders of the priority holdings will have preferential treatment in the granting of the aid, as provided for in Law 19/1995.

3. The decision to grant the Autonomous Community shall mean the recognition of the right to the interest subsidy on the loan and the other aid which, in each case, comes in accordance with the provisions of this Royal Decree.

Article 34. Information and monitoring.

1. The information concerning the identification of each beneficiary of aid linked to loans referred to in paragraph 1 of Annex 11, to the descriptive aspects and basic indicators of their exploitation, to the priority status of the holding, when where appropriate, and the amounts of the investments and aid granted, shall be provided by the Autonomous Communities to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for each submitted file, together with the corresponding certificates of implementation of the the action which is the subject of aid and the fulfilment of the undertakings given by the beneficiary.

2. The competent bodies of the Autonomous Communities shall be depositaries of the information to be provided for the purposes of covering the requirements of the European Community in the exercise of the tasks of monitoring, evaluation and control, and shall forward to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the information necessary for the fulfilment of the corresponding obligations with the Community institutions, in particular by providing the documents which serve as the support for the payment orders affected by the financial contribution of the European Guidance Fund and Agricultural Guarantee (EAGGF).

3. For the purpose of implementing the monitoring of the objectives of this Royal Decree and of the requirements of Community legislation, as well as to facilitate the activities to be carried out by the institutions of the European Community, the appropriate mechanisms for the implementation and coordination of such controls shall be established with the competent bodies of the Autonomous Communities.

Additional disposition first. Basic regulations.

This Royal Decree is of a basic law, as far as State aid is concerned, in accordance with Article 149.1.13. of the Constitution, which gives the State the power to issue bases and coordination of the overall planning of economic activity.

Additional provision second. Validity of the conventions.

By the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the agreements signed by the extinct General Secretariat of Agricultural Structures with the entities and with the State Corporation of Agrarian Caution will be considered applicable. pursuant to the provisions of Royal Decree 1887/1991 of 31 December 1991 and Royal Decree 851/1993, incorporating to them, where appropriate, the adaptation clauses which, to this effect, come from, including the equivalent of this Royal Decree the references given in those conventions to Royal Decree 1887/1991 of 30 December 1991; Royal Decree 851/1993 of 4 June 1993 and Royal Decree 62/1994 of 21 January.

Additional provision third. Access to preferential interest loans without bonus.

The beneficiaries of specific aid lines governed by own rules by the Autonomous Communities, in the field of agricultural production structures, which finance actions not covered by this Royal Decree may benefit from interest-rate subsidies on loans covered by the cooperation agreements with financial institutions signed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, with the limits set set out in the agreements with the Autonomous Communities.

Additional provision fourth. Support mechanisms and support.

1. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, through the General Secretariat for Rural Development and Conservation of Nature and the Autonomous Communities, will be able to establish guarantee mechanisms, risk insurance, total insolvency insurance or (a) in order to allow access to the aid of this Royal Decree to potential beneficiaries without sufficient guarantees at the discretion of the credit institutions with which it is established, or any other that they deem necessary, cooperation agreement, with 1 per 100 of the aid granted to the fund insurance that could be established.

2. Among the guarantee mechanisms, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, through the General Secretariat for Rural Development and Conservation of Nature, may sign agreements with the State-owned Agricultural Guarantee Company (SAECA), either bilaterally or jointly with credit institutions.

3. Aid may be granted to satisfy, in whole or in part, the amount of the commission for the management of guarantees provided by SAECA or other entities within the framework of the agreements signed for that purpose. The updated value of this aid, in addition to that of the remaining aid, will not be able to exceed the respective limits set for each line in this Royal Decree.

Additional provision fifth. Liability regime.

The liability regime provided for in Article 8 of Regulation (EEC) 729/70 will affect the different public administrations in relation to their respective actions, and can be specified in the collaboration agreements. which are signed with the Autonomous Communities.

Additional provision sixth. Special measures for the Canary Islands

The references of Article 2 and the single additional provision of Royal Decree 1318/1992 of 30 October 1992 on special measures of an agricultural structural nature for the Canary Islands to the application of Royal Decree 1887/1991 They shall be construed as references to the articles and paragraphs of this Royal Decree which correspond to their content.

The increase of the maximum aid provided for in Article 2 (1) (e) of Royal Decree 1318/1992 of 30 October 1992 on special measures of an agricultural structural nature for the Canary Islands may be applied in any of the types of aid provided for in Article 7 (1) of this Royal Decree, irrespective of the rules laid down in Article 10.

Additional provision seventh. Spending commitments and generations of credit.

1. The economic obligations arising from the implementation of this Royal Decree and corresponding to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in accordance with paragraph 1 of Annex 11, shall be the subject of a commitment to expenditure on the In accordance with Article 61 (5) of the Royal Decree No 1091/1988 of 23 September 1988, the recast text of the General Budget Law is hereby approved.

2. Balances resulting from the financial compensation provided for in Article 29 may correspond to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, which may be the subject of credit generation in the statements of expenditure of the budgets for the financial year in which these balances are received and in the terms which are laid down in accordance with Article 71 of the Royal Decree No 1091/1988 of 23 September 1988 approving the recast of the Law General Budget.

Additional disposition octave. Tax benefits for young farmers or agricultural workers.

The plans for improvement of the holdings referred to in Article 20 (5) of Law 19/1995 on special tax benefits for young farmers or agricultural workers will be regulated in the First section of this Royal Decree.

Additional provision ninth. Periods without collaboration agreement.

In the case of non-existence of a collaboration agreement, and until the agreement with the corresponding Autonomous Community is signed, the beneficiaries will receive, in charge of the budgets of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in accordance with the objective criteria laid down in the first paragraph of Article 32, the part of such aid resulting from the application of the percentages set out in paragraph 1 of the Article 29.

First transient disposition. Application of Royal Decree 1887/1991.

The applicants for aid granted to Royal Decree 1887/1991, on which there has not been a decision to grant the Autonomous Community until the date of entry into force of this Royal Decree, may opt for the application to their requests for the provisions of that Royal Decree or of what is established in that Royal Decree.

Second transient disposition. Transitional financing by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food may finance the capital grants referred to in Article 23 which correspond to cases decided during the year 1996 and processed for that purpose by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Autonomous Communities, including the total of the expenditure committed in the calculation for the determination of the participation referred to in Article 29.1.

Transitional provision third. Transitional calculation of aid for forest fires.

For the purposes of Article 29.1, the aid shall be taken into account for the aid provided by the Autonomous Communities which are intended to repair damage to the structural components of the production system of the holdings, caused by forest fires declared between 1 January 1994 and 31 December 1996. The amount certified for each financial year by the Autonomous Communities corresponding to the aid applied to interest subsidies, partial or total payment of the principal depreciation annuities, reduction in the amount of the aid shall be taken into account. of this or subsidy of the cost of the loan guarantee contracted by the beneficiary to finance the assisted repair.

Single repeal provision. Regulatory repeal.

As many provisions of equal or lower rank are repealed with this Royal Decree and in particular:

(a) Royal Decree 995/1987 of 24 July 1987 on aid for certain collective investments for the improvement of agricultural holdings located in less-favoured areas.

(b) The Order of 3 August 1987 laying down the rules for the coordination of the granting of aid for collective investment in less-favoured areas.

c) Royal Decree 1887/1991 of 30 December 1991 on the improvement of agricultural structures.

(d) Royal Decree 851/1993 of 4 July 1993 amending Royal Decree 1887/1991 of 30 December 1991.

e) Royal Decree 62/1994 of 21 January, amending Royal Decree 1887/1991 of 30 December 1991.

Until the provisions for the application and development of this Royal Decree are enacted, the provisions laid down for the development and implementation of the Royal Decree shall remain in force as soon as they are not opposed to it. 1887/1991.

Final disposition first. Faculty of development.

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is hereby authorised to issue, within the scope of his powers, the provisions necessary for the application of this Royal Decree and in particular:

(a) In order to update the figures expressed in pesetas, in accordance with the amendments to the amounts of the investments and the aid and the conversion rate of the European unit of account (ECU) to be laid down in the legislation Community.

(b) To determine the minimum interest rate to be met by the beneficiaries in the case of interest-subsidy loans.

Final disposition second. Entry into force.

This Royal Decree shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the "Official Gazette of the State".

Given in Madrid on February 9, 1996.

JOHN CARLOS R.

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries

and Power,

LUIS MARIA ATIENZA SERNA

ANNEX 1

Definitions

For the purposes of this Royal Decree:

1. Agricultural activity: The set of works required for the production of agricultural, livestock and forestry products (Article 2.1 of Law 19/1995).

2. Agricultural holding: The set of goods and rights organized by its holder in the exercise of agricultural activity, primarily for the purposes of the market, and which is itself a technical-economic unit (Article 2.2 of the Law 19/1995).

3. Elements of the holding: Real estate of a rustic nature and any other that are the subject of permanent agricultural use; housing with agricultural premises; agricultural buildings and installations, including industrial, and livestock, machines and tools integrated in the holding and affections thereto, the use and use of which correspond to the owner's property, lease, rights of use and enjoyment and even for mere tolerance from its owner. They also constitute elements of the exploitation of all the rights and obligations which may correspond to the holder and are affected by the exploitation (Article 2.3 of Law 19/1995).

4. Holder of the holding: The natural or legal person who exercises the agricultural activity, organizing the assets and rights of the holding with business criteria and assuming the risks and the civil, social and fiscal responsibilities which may be derived from the management of the holding (Article 2.4 of Law 19/1995).

5. Professional farmer: The natural person who, being the holder of an agricultural holding, obtains at least fifty per cent of his total income from agricultural activities or other complementary activities, provided that the part of the income directly from the agricultural activity carried out on its holding is not less than 25 per 100 of its total income and the working time devoted to agricultural or complementary activities exceeds half of its total working time (Article 2.5 of Law 19/1995).

For these purposes, the participation and presence of the holder, as a consequence of public choice, in institutions of a representative character, as well as in organs of representation of character, are considered complementary activities. trade union, cooperative or professional, provided that they are linked to the agricultural sector, the processing and direct sale of the products of their holding and those related to the conservation of the natural space and protection of the environment the environment, as well as the tourist, hunting and handicraft made in its exploitation (Article 2.5 of Law 19/1995).

6. Principal farmer: The professional farmer who obtains at least 50 per 100 of his total income from the agricultural activity carried out on his holding and whose working time is devoted to activities not related to the holding less than half of their total working time (Article 2.6 of Law 19/1995).

7. Farmer with principal agricultural-livestock dedication: The farmer, who is the principal farmer, who reaches the indicated limits of origin of income and dedication to be considered as such by agricultural and/or livestock activities on their holding.

8. Part-time farmer: The natural person who, being the holder of an agricultural holding, devotes to agricultural activities not less than one fifth of his total working time (Article 2.9 of Law 19/1995).

9. Young farmer: The person who has completed the age of eighteen years and has not been forty years of age and who pursues or intends to pursue agricultural activity (Article 2.7 of Law 19/1995).

10. Small farmer: The principal farmer whose agricultural holding does not exceed 12 units of European dimension (ESU) and whose total income is equal to or less than 75 per 100 of the reference income (Article 2.8 of Law 19/1995).

11. Small producer of bovine, ovine or caprine animals, of milk orientation: The holding holder who, in compliance with the generic conditions of a small farmer, has a herd which does not exceed any of the following limits of livestock milk: 15 cows, 200 sheep or 120 goats and whose final production from all the said livestock species is at least 50 per 100 of their total agricultural production.

12. Plan for the improvement of the farm: The total of investments which, on an annual or multiannual basis and with appropriate technical, economic and financial approaches, plans to introduce the holder of the agricultural holding for modernisation and the improvement of its structure.

13. Merger of holdings: Aquella which occurs as a result of the total or partial integration of several pre-existing holdings, constituting a new operation.

14. First installation: Aquella in which a young person first accesses the ownership, exclusive or shared, of a priority agricultural holding or the quality of the partner of an entity that holds a priority exploitation of an associative character.

It is also considered first installation by a young farmer in any of the following cases (Article 17 of Law 19/1995):

(a) Where, being the holder of an agricultural holding whose net margin does not exceed 20 per 100 of the reference income, it becomes the holder of a priority holding.

(b) Where, being the holder of an agricultural holding with a level of dedication of working time and unit income below the minima laid down in Law 19/1995 for holders of holdings Priority is given to this consideration as a major farmer.

15. Young farmer co-owner of a holding: He who in his first installation accesses the shared ownership of an agricultural holding according to the following conditions (Article 17 of Law 19/1995):

(a) That the holder and the young farmer agree that he shares the managerial responsibilities, the economic performance of the holding, the risks inherent in his management and the investments in the holding, in a minimum ratio of 50 per 100. This agreement shall be for a minimum duration of six years.

(b) The holder transmits to the young farmer, at least one third of his property in the components of his holding, the use and use of which will continue to be integrated into the holding.

The agreements referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of the previous paragraph shall be formalized in public deed, and the transmission referred to in paragraph (b) shall be entered in the Land Registry if they are previously registered farms in favour of the holder (Article 17 of Law 19/1995).

For the purposes of this paragraph, where a young farmer is the co-owner of a holding meeting the requirements of the priority holding, it shall be sufficient for the holding to reach such a consideration, that young person personally meets the requirements of the holder of the priority holding.

16. Agricultural unit of work (UTA) and its synonym, unit of work man (UTH): The work carried out by a person dedicated full-time for one year to the agricultural activity (article 2.10 of Law 19/1995). For its determination, it will be established in the final provision of the sixth of Law 19/1995.

17. Total income of the owner of the holding: The income fiscally declared as such by the owner of the holding in the last financial year, excluding from the calculation the property increases and decreases. For these purposes, the operator shall be charged:

(a) The income of the agricultural activity of the holding.

(b) Income from other business or professional activities, as well as income from work developed outside the holding, including pensions and liabilities that are tax liabilities declare.

c) 50 per 100 of the income of the capital and real estate, in the case of a ganancial regime, and 100 per 100 of its private income.

Notwithstanding the above, by the competent authority of the Autonomous Community, it may be used for the assessment of the total income of the holder of the holding, the average of the income fiscally declared as such by the same during three of the last five years, including the last financial year, excluding from the computation the increases and the property decreases.

In addition, for the determination of income from agricultural activity and other complementary activities, the corresponding increases and decreases in equity will be excluded and, in any case, will be established by the sixth final provision of Law 19/1995.

18. Reference income: Indicator concerning gross non-agricultural wages in Spain. The annual determination of its amount shall be made by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in accordance with the provisions of the European Union legislation and taking into account the salary data published by the Institute. National of Statistics (Article 2.12 of Law 19/1995).

For its determination, it will be in accordance with the sixth provision of Law 19/1995.

19. Unit labour income: The economic performance generated in the agricultural holding which is attributed to the unit of work and which is obtained by dividing, between the number of agricultural labour units dedicated to the holding, the resulting quantity to add the net margin or net surplus of the holding and the amount of the accrued wages (Article 2.11 of Law 19/1995).

For its determination, it will be in accordance with the additional provision of Law 19/1995.

20. Priority agricultural holding: Aquella which, in accordance with Articles 4, 5 and 6 and final provision of Law No 19/1995, meets the requirements laid down in paragraphs 1 or 4 and, where appropriate, in the other of the definition:

1. The agricultural holding which makes it possible for the occupation of at least one agricultural unit of work, the unit income of which is equal to or greater than 35 per 100 of the reference income and less than 120, shall be regarded as a priority. by 100 of the latter, without prejudice to the provisions of the single transitional provision of Law 19/1995, and the holder of which is a natural person who meets the following requirements:

(a) To be a professional farmer, in accordance with paragraph 5 of this Annex.

(b) A sufficient level of agricultural training to be carried out, in order to determine the criteria for education and professional experience.

c) Haber turned eighteen years old and not be sixty-five years old.

(d) Be discharged from the Special Agrarian System of Social Security or in the Special Regime of Self-Employed or Autonomous Workers according to their agricultural activity. Professional farmers who are not covered by the above schemes must comply with the indicative requirements of their agricultural professionalism established for these purposes by the Autonomous Communities.

e) Reside in the region where the exploitation or in the border areas defined by the regional legislation on territorial organization. The agricultural comarcalization established in the Agrarian Census of the National Statistics Institute will be taken into account.

This requirement of residence is understood except in case of force majeure or need appreciated by the Autonomous Communities.

2) In the case of marriage, the ownership of the priority holding may correspond, for the purposes indicated, to both spouses, being sufficient that one of them meets the requirements set out in the previous paragraph.

3. Agricultural holdings belonging to a hereditary community and on which an indivision pact exists for a minimum period of six years shall be considered as priority holdings for the purposes indicated the holding and, at least, one of the unit-holders in the community meet the requirements set out in point (1) of this paragraph. The period of indivision shall be counted from the rating of the holding as a priority.

4) The agricultural holding whose unit income of work is equal to or greater than 35 per 100 of the reference income and less than 120 per 100 of the farm shall also be considered as a priority, making it possible for the less, an agricultural unit of work and the holder of which is a legal person who responds to any of the following alternatives:

(a) To be a cooperative society of community exploitation of the land or associated work within the agricultural activity.

b) to be a cooperative agricultural company, a processing company, a civil society or a commercial company which, in any event, meets the requirements laid down in one of the following three

:

1. At least 50 per 100 of the partners shall meet the requirements of the professional farmer as regards the source of income and dedication to work, as set out in paragraph 5 of this Annex.

2. That the two-thirds of the partners who are responsible for the management and administration meet the requirements of the professional farmer in terms of dedication to the work and the origin of the income, associative, as referred to in paragraphs (b), (c), (d) and (e) of subparagraph (1) of this paragraph, and that at least two-thirds of the volume of the work carried out on the holding is provided by partners meeting the requirements above indicated.

3. The holding of which the holder is a holder is constituted by at least two-thirds of its area under a single line, provided that the area provided by a single partner in no case exceeds 40 per 100 of the total area of the holding and, at least, a partner meets the requirements for the provenance of the income and work of the work set out in paragraph 6 of this Annex for the farmer as a principal and those laid down in paragraph 1.) of this paragraph for the holder of the priority agricultural holding.

5) In addition to the above, where the holder of the priority holding is a civil, labour or other commercial company, his shares or social interests must be nominative and, in the event that he does not in the case of an agricultural processing company, the sole purpose of which shall be the exercise of the agricultural activity on the holding of which it is the holder and more than 50% of the share capital, if it exists, shall belong to the members of the the requirements for the origin of the income and the work required of the farmers (a) professional, referred to.

6) For the purposes of sub-paragraphs 4) and 5), income from the holding shall be deemed to be income from the remuneration paid by the members for the work of any kind developed on the holding, the transfer to the same land or other means of production and its contributions to the share capital and their respective holdings in the positive results of the holding.

7) They shall also be given priority consideration, for the purposes of the provisions of this Royal Decree, for holdings to which the provisions of the third final provision of Law 19/1995 apply.

21. Professional with livestock farming: The natural person who holds an agricultural holding shall obtain at least 50 per 100 of his total income from the following activities carried out on his farm: agricultural, livestock, forestry, (i) non-commercial, tourist, craft, processing and direct selling of their products, or activities related to the conservation of the natural space and the protection of the environment, provided that the part of their income directly comes from of the agricultural and livestock farming activity carried out on its holding is not less than 25% 100 of your total income and your working time spent on activities outside the farm is less than half of your total working time.

ANNEX 2

Conditions for improvement plans

A) Intrinsic conditions of improvement plans:

1. The improvement plan must demonstrate, by means of specific calculations, that the investments are justified from the point of view of the situation of the holding and its economy, and that its implementation will provide a lasting improvement in such a situation.

You must also include:

(a) A description of the situations before and after the implementation of the improvement plan, established on the basis of a budget estimate and comprising at least the following data:

1. Surface, by crops, cattle, by species, and average yields in each productive activity.

2. Machinery and equipment, territorial improvements and buildings.

3. The composition and dedication of the family and salaried workforce.

4. The gross production of each activity.

5. Expenditure of each productive activity and fixed expenses of the farm.

(b) An indication of the measures and, in particular, of the planned investments.

2. Where, by virtue of the specialised nature of the holding which is the subject of the aid, the improvement plan includes changes and improvements to the existing sectoral restructuring programmes or which are to be established in the future, it must comply with the technical and economic criteria laid down in each sectoral programme, in order to be able to benefit from the aid of this Royal Decree.

3. The investments included in the improvement plans for several individual holdings, with no subsequent merger objective, may be carried out in whole or in part.

4. An improvement plan may relate to an individual holding or to the one resulting from the merger of the whole or a part of several holdings, taking the associated exploitation as a result of the legal form of a cooperative or agricultural holding company. transformation (S.A.T.).

This improvement plan shall relate to the exploitation resulting from the merger as well as, where appropriate, to the non-integrated part of each holding which is still managed by its corresponding holder, at the same time as a member of the holding associated.

The aid specified in Article 7 may be granted to cooperatives and S.A.T. in which the merger circumstances mentioned above are met if at least two thirds of their members were professional farmers. with agricultural-livestock dedication.

5. Aid for investments may be granted through improvement plans, referred to in this Royal Decree, to cooperatives and S.A.T. the object of which is the Community exploitation of land and/or livestock, and to those with the same social object. which, as a new constitution, are not formed by merger of holdings. In both cases, they must meet the condition of priority exploitation.

6. The maximum limits for beef and pigmeat and for investment shall be multiplied by the number of holdings integrated into the holding resulting from the merger, with the exception of the aquaculture sector.

However, in the holdings referred to in paragraph 4 and 5 of this paragraph, the following limits may not be exceeded:

1. º Two hundred dairy cows.

2. º Four times the amount per holding in Article 7 (3).

7. The cooperatives and S.A.T. referred to in this Annex shall have a duration of not less than six years from the date of the granting of the aid, and the establishment of their share capital and the participation of the members in the management it shall be in accordance with the respective legal arrangements of those associative entities.

B) Calculation of unit income of work:

1. For the calculation of the unit income of work in relation to the reference income, the work carried out on the holding shall be computable for those with the character of the owner, the co-owner, the family member or the employee. For these purposes, the working time on the holding must be credited by supporting the corresponding supporting documents to the corresponding social security scheme. The work carried out on the holding may be credited by any form admitted in law in the cases of the spouse, descendants, ascendants and other relatives of the holder by consanguinity or affinity to the second degree and, where appropriate, by adoption which coexists in their home and which are in their position and which, while being occupied on their holding, do not have the obligation to join the corresponding social security system, in accordance with Article 12 of the recast of the General Law of Social Security, approved by the Royal Legislative Decree 1/1994, of 20 of June.

In the case of legal persons, only the work carried out by the partners and employees who are involved in social security will be computable according to their activity developed on the holding.

2. The criteria laid down in the Order of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of 19 December 1995 for the development of the sixth final provision of Law 19/1995 shall apply.

ANNEX 3

Sectoral Constraints

1. Investments relating to the milk production sector which have the effect of exceeding the reference quantity determined by the rules on the additional levy in the milk and milk products sector shall be exclude from the aid scheme, unless a supplementary reference quantity has been previously granted in accordance with Article 4 (1) (c) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 857/84 of 31 March on general rules for the application of the levy referred to in Article 5c of Regulation (EEC) No 804/68 in the the milk and milk products sector, as amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1630/91, or which has been obtained by a shipment in accordance with Article 7 (1) of the latter. In such cases, the aid may be granted in the form of access mechanisms for new or increased milk production quotas laid down in the rules governing the milk sector. In such cases, the aid shall be conditional on the investment not being used to increase the number of dairy cows to more than 50 per UTA and not more than 80 per holding. Where the holding has more than 1,6 UTA, the indicated limit of 80 cows per holding may be exceeded until the result of increasing the number of cows by 15 per 100, provided that the limit of 50 dairy cows per UTA is not exceeded.

These limitations will not affect the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla.

2. Where an improvement plan provides for an investment in the intensive pig production sector, the granting of the aid for such investment shall be subject to the following conditions:

(a) That at the end of the plan it may be produced by the holding, at least, the equivalent of 35 per 100 of the quantity of food consumed by the pigs. This condition shall not be required in the case of investments designed to reduce emissions from animal dejections and the disposal of slurry on holdings, provided that these investments have as a result better results in environmental protection which would have been achieved through the condition of which the requirement is eliminated and which in no case will lead to an increase in production capacity.

b) To ensure the technical and health conditions for the disposal of waste and non-contamination of the environment.

3. The granting of aid for investments referred to in Article 5, in holdings in the pig-intensive sector, resulting in an increase in the number of places in pigs is excluded.

For the above purposes, it is established that the required square for breeding sow shall be that of 6.5 pigs for fattening.

4. The aid granted for investments in the beef and veal production sector shall be limited to livestock holdings whose beef density does not exceed, in the last year of the plan, two units of livestock (UGM). per hectare (ha) of total forage area or its production equivalent on areas with low productivity fodder and scraping of the feed of such animals subsequently.

Aid for the protection of the environment and for the improvement of the hygiene of livestock and the welfare of animals which do not involve an increase in the capacity of the animals will be exempted from the limitation specified in the previous paragraph. production.

However, where the number of adult animals of the bovine, ovine and caprine species does not exceed the equivalent of 15 UGM, the maximum density of 3 UGM/Ha shall be applied in any case.

For the purposes of conversion to UGM, the provisions of the table included as Annex I to Regulation (EEC) No 2328/91 shall apply.

5. The granting of aid for investments in the poultry sector, for the production of eggs and meat in intensive non-soil dependent conditions, with the exception of those for the protection of the environment, the hygiene of livestock or the environment, is excluded. animal welfare which does not involve an increase in production capacity, those intended for other agricultural use for purposes other than the production of meat or eggs and aid for investment in the field of palmipas for the production of "foie-gras".

6. However, the Autonomous Communities may include aid to investments for the transfer of buildings and livestock facilities outside the municipality's urban centres, for hygienic-sanitary reasons of public interest. Aid may also be included for investments to improve the hygiene and health conditions of livestock holdings, provided that it does not lead to an increase in production or changes in the production structure.

7. The amounts for the acquisition of production rights and premium rights of an individual and transferable nature may be included in the investment to be eligible for aid, provided that this is in accordance with the current rules of order the sector in which case it is applicable.

ANNEX 4

Investments excepted

The investments excepted from the aid scheme to the improvement plans are:

1. Expenses incurred by:

a) Purchase of land.

(b) Replacement machinery, except for the use in common among farmers, for the replacement of machines with eight or more years of age and the one acquired when the territorial base is increased, the crops of the agricultural holding or is deemed necessary by the Autonomous Community to ensure the viability of the holding. In any case, the purchase of new machinery shall be considered only. In the case of acquisition where the territorial base increases, the crops of the agricultural holding are changed or deemed necessary by the Autonomous Community to ensure the viability of the holding shall be considered as investments only the purpose of the aid is those relating to the part of the value corresponding to an increase in power or the capacity of the machinery.

(c) Live animals of the porcine and poultry species, as well as calves for slaughter.

For the purchase of other live animals only the first acquisition provided for in the improvement plan shall be taken into account.

2. Aid in the form of a capital grant may be granted only for priority holdings and those in the form of a reference income of less than 120 per 100 of the reference income of the labour productivity indicator resulting from dividing the amount of the sum of the net margin and of the wages corresponding to a number of units of work which does not exceed, in more than one, the family members or, in any case, three, between the sum of the family and salaried units of work previously indicated.

In the case of legal holders, for the calculation above, the units of work contributed by the partners and those of non-partner employees that do not exceed 150 per 100 of those contributed by the partners will be computed.

The Autonomous Communities will be able to extend the limits of the wage labor that is computed in the labor productivity indicator, in the cases of productive orientations of greater absorption of labor.

ANNEX 5

Maximum amounts of aid to professional owners excepted

1. Maximum amounts of aid expressed in percentages of investment:

Zones and types of investment

Volume of Investment for Exploitation-Pesetas/Deprived: Real Estate/Other Investments/Other Areas: Real Estate/Other Investments/Observations

A: " 7.430,000/45.00/30.00/35,00/20,00/In the dairy sector, the aid may not cause increases in livestock resulting from more than 50 dairy cows per UTA and/or per holding.

B: >/33.75/22.50/26.25/15.00

* With limits of 14.860,000 pesetas per UTA and 29,720,000 pesetas per farm.

2. The maximum ceilings referred to in case A may be applied to case B where the investments are intended to:

a) Energy saving.

b) Territorial improvements.

(c) Protection, improvement of the environment, provided that they do not result in an increase in production capacity.

(d) Improvements to the conditions of livestock hygiene and the welfare of livestock in compliance with animal welfare standards, provided that such investments do not result in an increase in production capacity.

ANNEX 6

Aid to cattle, sheep and/or goat farmers

1. Aid to dairy farmers in the form of a capital subsidy or interest rate subsidy shall apply where the investments to be made under the rules governing those sectors exceed 50 per 100 of the total investment and have for any of the following purposes:

a) Accommodation and constructions.

b) Hygiene-sanitary improvements to the holding.

c) Mechanical milking facilities.

(d) Facilities and machinery for cooling milk or milk products.

e) Improving the production, handling and conservation of fodder.

f) Reducing production costs.

g) Acquisition of production rights and premium rights.

2. Cattlemen who carry out improvement plans which result in an increase in the production of cow's milk may receive such aid provided that they have previously established an individual reference quantity allocated to milk and milk products.

3. The conditions and requirements of a technical nature regulated for the entire national territory may be supplemented with those other than each Autonomous Community considers appropriate to establish in its territorial scope.

4. In any event, the granting of the aid will be conditional on compliance with the legally established hygienic and sanitary standards.

ANNEX 7

Deviations from investments in improvement plans

1. The beneficiary must return the aid received in the event that it is not going to implement the improvement plan under which it was granted. The amount to be repaid shall include the amount of the amount received as a capital grant, with the legal interest established, as well as, where appropriate, the amount which would have been satisfied with the interest rate subsidy and the other aid linked to the subsidised loan, with the latter being linked to the special conditions which might affect the application of the provisions of this Royal Decree.

2. If the improvement plan has been implemented, the amount of investment made shall be less than the amount of the investment approved in the plan, the total aid granted to the corresponding percentage of the investment shall be adjusted, the amount being reduced of the different help modes applied in the following order:

1. Depreciation of amortization annuities.

2. Capital Subsidy.

3. Bonification of interests.

The additional support for the young farmer will also be adjusted as appropriate.

If the amount of the investment made is less than the amount of the loan formalized, the amount of the

main bonus of this one will be reduced to that of such investment and to the difference it will not be of application the special conditions foreseen in the present Royal Decree. In this case, the adjustment of the amount of the aid granted to the limit which, in accordance with Article 7 corresponds to the investment made, shall be carried out in accordance with the following criterion: if the amount of the new bonus interest is less than that limit, a capital subsidy shall be added up to the maximum amount permitted by Article 8 and, if a balance is still deducted in favour of the beneficiary, it shall be applied in the form of a grant of one or more various annuities of amortisation of the principal and unlinked principal.

The beneficiary who would have received an aid of a higher level than the one resulting from the adjustment mentioned above, in any of the manner in which the aid is granted, shall be obliged to return the excess received. In the cases referred to in this paragraph, interest shall only be applied to the amounts to be returned by the beneficiary if the technical and economic validity of the improvement plan implemented is not recognised by the Autonomous Community.

ANNEX 8

Application criteria for first installation aids

1. The amount of the installation loan shall not exceed 90 per 100 of the difference between the amount of the planned installation costs and investments and the amount of the premium granted in the form of a capital grant, without prejudice to the provisions of the in the following paragraph.

2. The total aid to the first installation shall not exceed 4,950,000 pesetas or the amount of the installation costs and investments made. If this amount is lower than the initially planned and envisaged in the granting of the aid, the Autonomous Community shall readjust the aid granted, taking into account the two types of aid provided for and in such a way that, without exceeding the limits (a) the total amount of the aid to be received by the beneficiary shall be as far as possible from the application. In this case, the amount of the principal of the loan formalised will be able to achieve that of the expenditure and investments made, thereby disassociating the rest of the loan from the special conditions arising from the partnership agreements with financial institutions referred to in this Royal Decree.

In any event, the bonus shall be applied in such a way that the interest rate resulting from the beneficiary's satisfaction, after deduction of all the allowances applied in the relevant year, may not be less than 3 per 100 nominal per year.

3. In the same holding, no more than one premium or more than one first-installation interest subsidy may be charged. In the case of a number of young people setting up for the first time on the same holding, the aid shall be distributed according to the degree of participation of each young person in the whole of the expenditure and investments arising from those facilities. The first installations to be produced by integration as a partner in an associative entity are exempted from this rule, in which case these aids will be granted in full to each young applicant who is installed, in the amount of corresponds to the requirements set out in this Annex.

4. The payment of the installation premium in the form of a capital grant may be staggered over a maximum of five years at the discretion of the Autonomous Community.

5. For the purposes of applying the aid referred to in this Article, the following expenditure and investments shall be taken into

:

a) Payment of the first annuity of a land lease.

(b) Notary expenses and cash registers derived from the first installation.

(c) Financial costs of loans to finance working capital of the first financial year.

d) Expense of permits, licenses and administrative authorizations originating from the installation of the beneficiary.

e) Economic contribution of the youth to the associative entity, for their integration as a partner in the same.

(f) Acquisition of production rights and premium rights of an individual and transferable nature in accordance with the existing rules of a sectoral nature that are applicable.

g) Aval costs of first-installation loans.

(h) Payment of the hereditary rights, if any, to the coherends of the family holding in which the beneficiary is installed.

i) Acquisition or conditioning of the dwelling which constitutes the habitual residence of the beneficiary and is linked to the premises, located in the same building or in other buildings, intended to meet the needs derived from agricultural activities or from the processing and direct sale of the products on their holding, those relating to the conservation of the natural space and the protection of the environment and tourism, and non-commercial or craft industries carried out on their holding.

(j) Acquisition of territorial and operating capital, to the extent necessary to bring the facility into effect in accordance with Article 13.1.b.

ANNEX 9

Criteria for granting aid to collective investments according to location and purpose

(a) In all the less-favoured areas, investments with a view to one of the following may be assisted:

1. The production of fodder, including storage, conservation and distribution.

2. The improvement and equipping of the common grassland.

3. Small, small-scale hydraulic measures for the production of fodder and compatible with the protection of the environment, including small irrigation works, and the construction or repair of essential shelters for the seasonal movements of livestock, provided that, in both cases, their convenience from an economic point of view is justified.

(b) In all the less-favoured areas in which livestock farming is a marginal activity, it may be assisted, in addition to those referred to in subparagraph (a) and, where appropriate, in paragraph (c), investments which have one of the following: following objects:

1. The acquisition of equipment for the production of plant products that do not lack normal market outlets.

2. Small, small-scale hydraulic measures compatible with the protection of the environment, including small irrigation works, for plant production as set out in the preceding paragraph.

3. The allocation or improvement of facilities for the storage, preservation and distribution of the products referred to in the first indent, for use in the holdings of unit-holders in collective investment.

4. The common cultivation of land by holders of individual holdings.

(c) In all mountain areas, investments with one of the following objects may be assisted, in addition to those referred to in subparagraph (a):

1. The construction of water points, including their collection and works.

2. The construction or improvement of roads for immediate access to the grasslands and high mountain pastures, whatever their system of use.

3. The construction or improvement of accommodation for livestock, with their corresponding facilities and services, including those destined for the trashumant livestock.

(d) In mountain areas where livestock farming is a marginal activity, it may be assisted, in addition to those referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c), investments which have one of the following objects:

1. The collection and construction of water supply points for agricultural uses.

2. The construction and improvement of access roads to cultivated plots.

(e) In the whole territory of Objective 1 regions and regions (5b), in addition to those referred to in paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d), those which are intended to save water or energy in agricultural production activities, the conservation of the natural environment, protection or improvement of the environment, development of the activities of tourism, tourism or crafts by the holders of agricultural holdings or the processing and direct sale of their products in the holdings. The aid corresponding to these investments may be reimbursed, under the EAGGF Guidance Section, when they correspond to measures included in the operational programmes approved for those territories.

Aid for the promotion of investments identified in mountain areas may be applied to the farmers of the same who make such investments on an individual basis, where this is justified for reasons of depopulation or others of a socio-structural nature.

For the purposes of paragraphs (b) and (d) of paragraph 2 above, livestock farming shall be deemed to be a marginal activity where, in the municipality concerned, the forage area is not more than 30 per 100 of the utilised agricultural area or where the value of the animal production is not more than 30 per 100 of the final agricultural production obtained in that municipality.

ANNEX 10

Criteria for the grant of capital grants and interest subsidies on collective investments

1. The maximum amount of the capital grant shall be the result of applying the percentage corresponding to each case to a first tranche of up to 4,000,000 pesetas of the investment of each beneficiary.

2. The interest rate subsidy shall be up to 8,5 points of nominal interest per year, and shall be applied in such a way that the interest resulting from the loan holder's satisfaction is not less than 3 per 100 nominal per year.

3. The amount of the subsidised loan shall not exceed 90 per 100 of the difference between the amount of the investment approved and the value of the capital subsidy granted.

Where the beneficiaries of the aid are the holders of agricultural holdings participating in the collective investment, the amount of each subsidised loan may not exceed 90 per 100 of the respective difference between the participation in the approved investment and the grant awarded.

4. The allowance shall be applied in the form indicated in the preceding number during the life of the loan, which is necessary for its updated value, in addition to the amount of the capital grant and, where appropriate, the guarantee aid, not to exceed the limits laid down in Article 23.

5. In cases where the reduction in the amount of investment made in respect of the amount of the aid referred to in the grant is necessary to reduce the amount of investment, the criteria laid down in Annex 7 to this provision shall apply.

ANNEX 11

Payment of the aids

1. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food shall make direct payments to the financial and security institutions concerned, corresponding to all of the following aid arrangements:

a) Interest Bonification to:

1. º Loans for the execution of improvement plans.

2. The installation loans of young farmers.

3. The loans for collective investments.

4. The loans for land acquisition.

b) Other aid linked to previous loans:

1. The costs of the endorsement.

2. º Minoration of principal amortization annuities.

2. The Autonomous Communities shall make payments in respect of all of the following aid

:

a) Capital grants.

(b) First installation Primas of young farmers.

(c) Aid for the introduction of accounting and service groupings for the benefit of agricultural holdings.

(d) Grants and grants to improve the professional qualification of the agricultural sector.

e) Incentives for longer-lasting, rustic leases.

(f) Aid referred to in Section

.

3. Once each economic year is closed, the necessary adjustments will be made to ensure compliance with the percentage of participation established in this Royal Decree, with the compensation and transfers between Administrations to this end, without prejudice to the fact that such adjustments, compensation and transfers may also be made in the course of the financial year.

ANNEX 12

Collaboration agreements with financial entities

1. Cooperatives with a credit section must meet the following requirements:

(a) To be eligible for specific legal regulation as cooperatives with a credit section.

b) Be enrolled in a differentiated manner as cooperatives with a credit section in a public register.

c) Limit the operations of the credit section to the cooperative itself and to the members and members of the family community affected by the economic activity of the partners.

d) Have a director or proxy with appointment to the appropriate body of the competent public administration.

e) Sujetate to legally established economic and financial regulation.

2. Collaboration agreements with financial institutions shall include the following loan arrangements:

Help Lines/Investment Conditions: Type/Percentage of Type-Total/Loan Mode: Write-down Term-A|os/Card Period-A|os

Land Purchase/Land Acquisition/100/15/3

First facility/Adequation, territorial capital, housing acquisition and improvement, hereditary rights payments/" 65/15/3

Power improvement and investment plans. /Furniture/< 25/10/2

Collective Investment/Improvement Plans/Furniture/Goods/< 65 and " 25/8/1

All/-/-/5/-

The beneficiaries in which the circumstances indicated in one of the first three loan modalities are present, may also be eligible for any of the shorter-term ones.

3. Payment of the aid in the form of interest subsidies shall be subject to the following rules:

(a) The debt to the credit institution for the bonuses corresponding to each periodic settlement of interest shall be deemed to be due, liquid and payable at the time specified in the relevant collaboration agreement. with the financial institution.

(b) These successive maturity payments shall be construed as payments on account of the total aid granted to the beneficiary in the form of interest subsidies, the final adjustment of which shall be based on the final certification of completion of the the investment which is the subject of aid issued by the Autonomous Community.

(c) By way of derogation from subparagraph (a), the General Secretariat for Rural Development and Conservation of Nature and the credit and guarantee institutions may agree at any time for all or part of the loans granted in the context of the respective agreements entered into, the advance payment of all or part of the aid to be paid, calculating to that effect the equivalent amount of the same to the date, with the fee and in the terms that convingan.