In 5 years, associativity in the agricultural sector would reach 50%

After a wait of almost two years, the head of the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation (Midagri), nelly paredesannounced that the regulations of the Law no. 31335which seeks to strengthen the association of producers in agricultural cooperatives, will finally be published in the coming days.

In accordance with Miguel Mendozamanager of the Peruvian Association of Cocoa Producers (APPCACAO), the regulation of the standard will bring significant benefits to the agricultural sector. Among the main achievements, the recognition of the cooperative act stands out; that is to say, all the activities that the member producers carry out with their cooperatives will be exempt from income taxes and IGV.

About, edward contrerasex-manager of the conajuphighlights that, although the general objective of the norm is to grant tax benefits to agricultural cooperatives, the regulation must clearly establish the percentage of tax reduction, both for internal operations and for those external to the cooperative act.

In this sense, he mentions that in order to reach a consensus on this point, various meetings have been held between the MEF, Midagri and the agrarian unions.

On the other hand, the representative of APPCACAO indicates that an additional benefit of the entry into force of this regulation is that agricultural cooperatives will be able to submit to public procurement tenders.

“An agricultural cooperative will also have some additional points for competitive fund programs such as Agroideas, procompete either Innovate Peru”, emphasizes Mendoza.

Strengthen associativity

The approval of this regulation will have a significant impact on the promotion of associativity in the agricultural sector in the next 5 years, foresees Miguel Mendoza.

In this line, he mentions that currently the level of associativity of producers is between 30% and 35% at the national level, and estimates that this percentage will reach 50% with the Law no. 31335.

“Small farmers are expected to opt for the cooperative model, since the law and its regulations clarify the benefits and advantages of this type of organization,” he says.

According to the general manager of APPCACAO, approximately half a million agricultural producers throughout Peru could benefit from this regulation. This group includes both cocoa and coffee farmers, which together represent more than 400,000 farmers. In addition, producers of other crops such as rice, potatoes, quinoa and oil palm are added.

Adaptation to the regulation

Finally, regarding the internal adaptation of the regulation by the public institutions involved, Eduardo Contreras considers that this process could take as long as maximum up to 60 days after its publication.

He adds that the agrarian unions that are linked to cooperatives will meet with the next board of directors of the Congressional Agrarian Commission to monitor the implementation of the regulation.

Female participation will also be promoted

The Law no. 31355 It also promotes the active participation of women as members and directors or delegates of the agricultural cooperative on equal terms with men.

Points out that these organizations will seek include in their governing bodies a number of women that allows reaching, within a period of five calendar years from the entry into force of the law, a presence of women and men proportional to the number of skilled partners that make up its membership.

“This is important, because there will be a lot of motivation for young people and women who have an invaluable contribution to the development of the entire agricultural sector,” says Miguel Mendoza.

To date, 370 agricultural cooperatives have been registered at the national level, however, in Peru there are more than 2,240,000 agricultural producers.