MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE PROGRAMMING AND Ã.ÄÉÁÑ/ÓÅÙÍ COUNTRYSIDE DEVELOPMENT OFFICE DEPARTMENT F FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Early Retirement of Farmers (Reg. 2079/92) Beneficiaries :

-Age: from 55 up to 64 years old.

-Heads and possessors of agrarian exploitations.

-They have exercised agrarian activities as main occupation for a period of at least the ten (10) last years before filing their application

-They are permanent residents of the prefecture in the ambit of which their agrarian exploitation is located.

-They definitely transfer (deed of sale, parental allowance, etc) or by a 15 year long leasing contract the total of their agrarian exploitation.

Successors:

-Age: from 20 up to 40 years old.

-They must have completed their military service (if male) or they must have been legally exempted from it.

-They must have a sufficient professional ability or seek to obtain it, according to the Reg. 2328/91

Accession requirements

-Indispensable requirement for the accession to the program is the size of the beneficiary’s agrarian exploitation, which must have the following minimum size, depending on the type of the cultivation.

At the same time, during presentation of the application, the successor must dispose of his own agrarian land in order for the beneficiary’s agrarian exploitation to enlarge by at least 15% and the resultant increased exploitation must be at least 50.000 sq. meters of dry-farming or equivalent.

-Among the beneficiary’s obligations is the definite cease of the agrarian activity immediately after his accession to the program, whilst the successor undertakes the obligation to become a full time farmer.

Level of Compensation

-85.000 drachmas/month (general case)

-100.000 drachmas/month in the following cases:

1. The successor must be from 20 up to 30 years old.

2. The beneficiary’s agrarian exploitation must be located at the Eastern Aegean Sea Islands or at the Municipalities and the Communities of the borderland prefectures (Thesprotia, Ioanninon, Kastoria, Pella, Kilkis, Serres, Drama, Xanthi, Rodopi and Evros) the borders of which are located at a maximum distance of 20 kilometers from the frontier.

-In case of the beneficiary’s death, the compensation is given to his consort.

Duration of stay in the program: 15 years

Accession Procedure

Those interested to access the program must fill out all the necessary forms that are in their disposition at the local service units of the Agrarian Bank, which is also responsible for reporting to the local Prefecture.

Filing of the applications is made 6 times a year (odd months)

-It is to be noted that in a first phase (preliminary approval) all the supporting documents are presented except for the definite transfer contracts or the contracts for leasing of the beneficiary’s agrarian exploitation, which are presented in a second phase (definite accession)

The applicants whose applications were rejected have the right to present a plea to the Secretary-General of the Region against the local Prefect’s rejecting decision, both during the phase of preliminary approval and dyring the phase of the definite accession.

In case of a new rejection they have the possibility to exercise a hierarchical appeal before the Minister of Agriculture.

Sanctions:

-To the beneficiaries that do not keep up to their obligations or of those who mislead the office in order to gain access to the program:

1^st The compensation payment is interrupted and

2^nd The up to day received amounts are refunded, interest-bearing.

-To the successors that do not keep up to their obligations:

They are excluded from all kinds of Ministry’s aids and programs for a period of a decade.

“Farmers’ Early Retirement Program in the frame of Implementation of the Reg. (EEC) 2079/92”.

WE DECIDE

Article 1

Definition of the terms, the requirements and the restrictions under which the “Farmers’ Early Retirement” Program comes in force, application of the Reg. (EEC) 2079/92, as it has been adopted by the No. (94) 1282/14-7-94 decision of the European Commission.

Article 2

The following terms have the corresponding assigned meaning, concerning application of this measure:

1. Agriculture.
2. It is the economic sector that includes the activities of the branches that have as a purpose the

   production of agrarian products, as defined in the article 22 of the Law 992/1979 “About the organization of the Administrative offices for the application of the Accession Treaty etc.", except for those of the sea water fishing and of the forests.

3. Agrarian exploitation
4. It is the economic production unit engaged in selling one or more products, of the agrarian branches, under a single administration and management. Together with the manufacturing of products, activities of the agrarian exploitation include the trading, the transport, the standardization, the packaging, the storage, the placement till the wholesale stage exclusively of the products that the agrarian exploitation produces, as well as their first territorial processing.
5. Farmer as main occupation.
6. The natural person who derives at least the 50% of his total income from his occupation in the agrarian exploitation and works therein in person and professionally for a period of at least the 50% of his total time of work.
7. Occupation in Agriculture.
8. The personal work that is systematically offered by the natural person to the privately owned or non-privately owned agrarian exploitation, aiming at the achievement of economic results.
9. Head of Agrarian Exploitation
10. aa. Head of Agrarian Exploitation

    is considered the natural person who is economically and legally responsible for the agrarian exploitation and is actively participating to its proper operation

    bb. No more than two persons under common economic entity can be considered heads for the same agrarian exploitation.

    cc. Within the framework of the family the agrarian exploitation is to be considered single and indivisible regardless of the real fact, as to which of the two consorts is its head.

    dd. In case of joint ownership (property ab indiviso) by joint owners, who do not belong in the same family, provided that it becomes evident by data of the Agrarian Bank of Greece or by

    certificate of the Municipality or the Community or by other probative evidence that regardless

    of the indivisibility of the property, the joint owners exercise their exploitation separately, then it is possible for this indivisible property to be considered as more than one exploitation under different heads.

11. Possessor of an agrarian exploitation is considered:
12. a.a. The Owner of an agrarian exploitation

    b.b. The members of the same family who are authorized by special proxy in order to administer and to transfer the agrarian exploitation – in case there are not title-deeds due to the special conditions that still exist in our country, then the interested party must prove in every legal way his ownership.

13. <<Successor farmer>>

The natural person that succeeds the outgoing (an early retired farmer) to the agrarian exploitation according to the provisions of the article 2 and 5, par. 2 of the Reg. (EEC) 2079/92.

Article 3

1. The organization appointed for implementation of the Program is the Agrarian Bank of Greece S.A.. The specific terms and the details of the cooperation between the state and the Agrarian Bank of Greece S.A., are defined by a contract, which is signed for the account of the Greek State by the Minister of Agriculture.
2. The total number of those accepted to the program is 50.000, and the distribution of their accession is the one that appears in the table.
3. The period to access of the beneficiaries at the measurement has a 15 years duration.
4. The participation of the ?G??? to the total public budget allocated to implementation of the program up to the year 1997, is 75%, that is 139,9 millions of ECU.
5. For the year 1994 there is an approved credit ceiling of 15 billions of drachmas chargeable to the ?? 5322 of the budget of the Ministry of Agriculture allocated to economic aid, with a 75% participation of the ?G???, whilst for the next years the required credit will be defined by joint decision of the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Agriculture.
6. The level of the granted annual compensation per beneficiary is defined in the amount of 720.000 drachmas. This amount is increased by 180.000 in the following cases:
7. aa. When the “successor farmer’s” age is from 20 up to 30 years old, or

   bb. The transferred agrarian exploitation of the beneficiary is located in the Eastern Aegean Sea Islands or to the Municipalities and the Communities of the prefectures of Thesprotia, Ioanninon, Kastoria, Pella, Kilkis, Serres, Drama, Xanthi, Rodopi and Evros the border of which is located at a distance of up to 20 kilometers from the frontier.

8. The payment of the annual compensation to the beneficiaries is made in 12 equal monthly installements or potentially in other scheduled time periods that are defined by decree of the Minister of Agriculture.
9. A readjustement of the granted annual compensation level can be done after a joint decision of the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Agriculture, keeping up to the financing ceiling that is provided for in number E (94) 1282/14-7-94 decision of the European Commission.
10. As soon as the legal age limit (65 years of age) for the beneficiary’s retirement and receipt of a pension by the Organization of Agrarian Insurance is completed, a compensation is been made between the “Early Retirement” and the applicable minimum pension granted by the Organization of Agrarian Insurance to the “Early Retirement” level.
11. The annual compensation allowance to the beneficiaries is in no case taken into consideration as retirement allowance and it is not subject to any levy in favor of the public or in favor of a third party as defined by Law 2237/94. This compensation allowance does not represent a reason for the privation or the suspension of the requirements for the acquisition of the beneficiaries’ right to retirement by the Organization of Agrarian Insurance. During the beneficiaries’ access to the measurement and until the completion of their 65^th year of age, they are considered as “active farmers” as far as their insurance rights and medical- insurance rights are concerned.

ja. In case of death of the benefiaciary who has a right to the “early retirement”, the compensation is being paid to the other consort and for the period of time that remains until the date at which the beneficiary is expected to exit from the measurement.

jb. The details for the avoidance of the agreggation with other community regimes are defined by decree of the Minister of Agriculture.

jc. The mode of payment of the compensation, the necessary supporting documents for reporting accounts, etc. are defined by decree of the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Agriculture.

Article 4

1. Accession to the program have the persons who fulfill the following requirements:

aa. They are from 55 to 64 years old.

bb. They are possessors and heads of agrarian exploitations the size of which is at least as defined in the table that constitutes an integral part of the present decision.

MINIMUM SIZE OF THE AGRARIAN EXPLOITATION FOR THE ACCESSION TO THE EARLY RETIREMENT PROGRAM.

cc. They have exercised the agrarian activity as main occupation for a period of at least the last ten years before their accession to the program.

dd. They are permanent residents of the prefecture in the ambit of which, their agrarian exploitation is located.

-as an exception, it is considered that farmers whose agrarian exploitation or part of it, belongs to the rural area of an adjacent Community or Municipality of a bordering Prefecture wherein they have their permanet residence.

ee. They cede the total of the agrarian exploitation to a “successor”. The transfer of the agrarian exploitation must be definite through a legally registered notary document.

• as an exception they can maintain a portion of 10% of the area of their agrarian exploitation, but under no circumstances may, it be larger than 5.000 (five thousand) sq. meters.

ff. They definetely cease agrarian exploitations immediately after their accession to the beneficiaries of the programm. – As an exception, the practising of agrarian activity is permitted only in their behold portion of the agrarian exploitation, wherein they may however produce products exclusively for self-consumption.

1. The “successor farmer” to whom the agrarian exploitation is transferred, must fulfill the following requirements:

aa. To be from 20 years old to 40 years old and, in the case of male, he must have completed his military service or he must have been exempted from it.

bb. He must have or obtain a sufficient professional ability, according to the provisions for implementation of the Reg. 2328/91.

cc. To undertake the responsibility to exercise agrarian activities as main occupation immediately after the taking over of the agrarian exploitation from the beneficiary farmer.

dd. He is obliged to keep the agrarian exploitation that is transferred to him by the beneficiary, for a period of at least fifteen (15) years and to expand it during his accession to the program in order to make it to reach at least the 50.000 sq. meters equivalent area of dry farming, thereby increasing by a percentage of at least 15% the beneficiary’s exploitation.

ee. To exploit the agrarian exploitation that has been transferred to him by the beneficiary, paying due respect to the requirements for protection of the enviroment.

c) The following persons cannot be considered beneficiaries:

aa. Salaried employees, permanent or extraordinary (Public, Public Legal Entities, Private Legal Entities, Militaries, Private, etc.)

bb. Professionals (for instance, businessmen, handcraftmen, contractors of various works, doctors, laywers, engineers, etc), coffehouse keepers, barbers, etc. and provided that they fulfill the requirements of the article 4, par. a.

cc. Pensioners of any Insurance Fund, at home or abroad, with the exception of the farmers that receive a pension (benefit) as war victims or war injured and provided that they fulfill the requirements of the article 4, par. a.

d) the consorts of the above mentioned exceptionable categories (par. C), that dispose of the requirements of the article 4, par. a to gain access to the programs’ beneficiaries.

ARTICLE 5.

1. Those interested in accession to the program, must present to the local service unit of the Agrarian Bank of Greece S.A., an application with all the necessary supporting documents, which are defined by decree of the Minister of Agriculture, except for the probating evidence of final transfer of their agrarian exploitation to the “beneficiaries farmers”.
2. A three member committee is constituted, in every service unit of the Agrarian Bank of Greece S.A.

27. The above mentioned committee examines the presented applications with the above mentioned supporting documents, and within a twenty days period of time before the deadline for the filing of applications, reports through the Central Cervice of the Agrarian Bank of Greece S.A., to the Ministry of Agriculture, the number of the persons who comply with the requirements for accession to the program.
28. By decree of the Minister of Agriculture, is defined the number of those eligible for accession to the program for each one of the branch offices of the Agrarian Bank of Greece.
29. The three member committee, within ten days from receipt of the distribution of eligible persons per branch office, will report to the local Prefect as to the preliminary approval or rejection of the application, taking into consideration if the necessary requirements are fulfilled or not.

1. The Prefect, within fifteen days thereafter, issues a relative decision for the preliminary approval and thereby pre-accession or rejection of the application. Those who receive a pre-accession decision, are thereby called to present the probative evidence of their agrarian exploitations’ final transfer. After the expiration of a period of three months from the date when the above-mentioned decision issued, its validity ceases rightfully in case that the final transfers’ probative evidence is not presented.
2. The agrarian exploitations’ final transfer probative evidence is presented to the Agrarian Bank of Greece service units, where were also presented the applications of the interested parties.
3. -The three member committees within a period of twenty days, present a suggestion to the local Prefect for the final accession or the cancellation of the interested parties’ pre-accession decisions.
4. Within a period of fifteen days, the Prefect issues a decision which enlists final accession to the program or rejection of the interested parties.
5. -The obligation for compensation payment to the beneficiaries starts from the date of the presentation of the agrarian exploitations’ transfer contracts probating documents.
6. The interested parties can present a hierarchical plea before the Minister of Agriculture, according to the article 8 of the Law 3200/55, against rejecting decisions of the Prefect.
7. In order to comply with the terms of the program as far as the annual beneficiaries accession,

is considered, the applications will be submitted twice a year and more specifically, within

January or July of every year. Especially for the first year of implementation (1994), the

applications must be submitted until the 30^th-11-1994.

ARTICLE 6

1. Sampling inspections will be made every year on a sample of 5% of the beneficiaries. The responsibility for carrying out such sampling inspections will lie upon the organization for implementation of the measurement. The sampling inspections have the character of an in house investigation of account books at the levels both of the “early” retiring and the “beneficiary”.
2. By virtue of decision of the Minister or by virtue of joint decree of his and of the competent Minister on occasion, employees of the Ministry of Agriculture and other organizations constitute committees for the carrying out of the inspections.
3. In case that the beneficiary of the compensation does not fulfill his contractual obligations as defined to the Reg. (EEC) 2079/92 of the Council and in to its relative normative provisions, or in case that he has mislead the Office as far as his accession requirements to the beneficiaries were concerned, then by virtue of decision of the local Prefect:
4. aa. Every further payment of the compentation is ceased.

   bb. Already paid compensation amounts, if any, must be refunded interest bearing and with the

   procedure defined by the provisions of the Legislative Decree 356/74 <<Re: the collection of

   Public revenues.>>

5. In case of violation in any way of their obligations by the <<beneficiaries- farmers>>, as

such obligations are defined in the Reg. (EEC) 2079/92 of the Council and in its relative

normative provisions, then by virtue of decision of the Minister of Agriculture :

aa. They are excluded from any aid and program of the Ministry of Agriculture for a period of ten

years.

bb. They are obliged to pay a fine, whose level will be defined by virtue of decision of the

Minister of Agriculture and will lie in the range of the compensation amount that the

beneficiary receives for a period of one up to five years.

ARTICLE 7

a. Modification or replacement of the terms and requirements for implementation of the present is

possible by joint decision of the Minister of Agriculture and of the competent Ministers.

1. By decision of the Minister of Agriculture is defined every other detail for implementation of the present decision.

ARTICLE 8

This decision must be published in the Official Gazette. Its validity starts from the date of its publication.

<<DETAILS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MEASUREMENT OF FARMERS’ EARLY RETIREMENT, IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE REG. 2079/92>>

ARTICLE 1

1. Eligible to receiving the compensation are the persons who fulfill the requirements of the article 4 par. a and b with the exception of paragraphs c and d of the same article of the Joint Ministerial Decree.
2. The interested parties that dispose of the accession requirements to the present measurement present to the local service units of the Agrarian Bank of Greece S.A., the following supporting documents:

aa. Application and Solemn Statement (article 8 of Law 1599/86) requesting their accession to the measurement, thereby accepting the terms and the requirements of its implementation, declaring the state of their agrarian exploitation, its possession status, and the <<successor farmer>> to whom their agrarian exploitation will be definitely transferred.

bb.An attested copy of the identity card (both sides, validated by a Public Authority) or a copy of birth certificate.

cc.A permanent residence certificate issued at the local Police Authority.

dd.A copy of the first page of the insurance handbook of the Farmer's Security Organization attested duly by a Public Authority and a Farmer Security Organization certificate about the accession to the status of the additional insurance, if it exists.

31. Income tax return of the last decade before filing of the application for the accession to the measurement. In case that no tax return is being submitted, then the interested party must present:

1. A solemn Statement of the Law 1599/86 as to the omission of submitting of tax return, in accordance with the provisions of the No. 1068622/826/0006/14-7-92 (???. 1127) circular of the Ministry of Finance, and
2. A certificate issued by the Villages’ President of the Council or the Mayor of the area in which is located the agrarian exploitation or a certificate by the Agrarian Co-operative of which the interested party is a member, whereby it will be attested that agriculture has been the main occupation of his during the decade preceding the decision on the application for the accession to the measurement.

31. A certificate issued by the Department of Agriculture as to participation, if any, of the interested party in long term programs of structural character.
32. More specifically, the tobacco cultivators must present a certificate by the National Tobacco Organization with the tobacco quota that they are entitled to. This quota is transferred to the <<successor farmer>>, in case he wishes to continue the cultivation of tobacco in the transferred area of the agrarian exploitation.
33. A certificate issued by the Department of Agriculture wherein will be presented all kinds of subsidies (aids, compensations, etc.)

This certificate will be presented in case that the characteristic of the head of the agrarian exploitation, which must be fulfilled by the beneficiary cannot be derived from the records of the Agrarian Bank of Greece.

1. The <<successor farmer>> presents the following supporting documents:

aa. A solemn statement (article 8, Law 1599/86) by virtue of which he accepts the terms and

requirements of the program (article 4, par. B of the Joint Ministerial Decision) concerning the

<<successor farmer>>.

bb. An attested copy of the identity card (both sides, validated by a Public Authority) or a copy of

birth certificate.

29. A Recruitment certificate issued by the Recruiting Office by virtue of which is proven the fulfillment of the military obligations or the legal remission thereof.
30. A supporting document (in case it exists) of sufficient professional training in the agricultural sector (REG. 2328/91).
31. Registered titles of ownership or a fifteen year leasing contract of the agrarian land that the interested party declares to possess.
32. The character of the agrarian land of the successor (dry farming, watered, arboriculture, etc.) will be attested by the three-member committee of the Agrarian Bank of Greece, as it is defined in the article 5, par. B of the Joint Ministerial Decision, No 407/56/6081/20-9-94.

ARTICLE 2.

a. The Organization in charge for implementation of the measurement is obliged to issue the necessary forms that are going to be filled out by the beneficiary and the <<successor>>, according to the provisions of the article 1 of the present decision.

b) The following records are kept in every service unit of the Agrarian Bank of Greece S.A.:

1. Special protocol for the receipt of the applications of the interested parties. The applications with a filing date outside the provided time limits are not examined.
2. A dossier for the beneficiary and the <<successor farmer>>which is brought up to date for every change made in the particulars of both the beneficiary and the <<successor farmer>>.

ARTICLE 3

1. According to the provisions of the article 5 par. c of the Joint Ministerial Decision, No 40776/6081/20-9-94, the Prefect in charge issues a pre-accession decision,wherein an analytical description is made of both the agrarian exploitation of the beneficiary and the successor, which must comply with the sizes that are defined in the article 4 (par. a, passages bb and par b, passages dd) of the above-mentioned decision.
2. For the determination of the age, both of the beneficiary and the successor, the year and not the date of birth is taken into consideration.

ARTICLE 4

1. The possessors of mixed exploitations are eligible to accession to the measurement, provided that they fulfill the general requirements (article 4) of the Joint Ministerial Decision, No 40776/6081/20-9-94, and of the present, further having the obligation to also cede the cattle-breeding capital.

• The concession of the cattle-breeding capital can also be done to a third person, beyond the <<successor farmer>>.

1. Farmers who have been accepted in an Improvement Project (according to the Reg. 2328/91) can qualify as beneficiaries of the measurement, provided that they fulfill the requirements of the Joint Ministerial Decision, No 40776/6081/20-9-94 and of the present and that the <<successor farmer>> undertakes all the rights and the obligations that result from the Improvement Project.
2. The beneficiaries of the equating compensation that are accepted in the early retirement measurement are released from the obligation to exercise agrarian activities for a period of five years.

ARTICLE 5.

1. Records or reports of the prospective inspections are issued and kept (par. a and d of the article 6) of the Joint Ministerial Decision, No 40776/6081/20-9-94.).
2. In case of violation of obligations of either the beneficiary or the <<successor’s>>, the local Prefect and the local Department of Agriculture are informed by the inspecting organs for the enforcement of the sanctions provided for in article 6 of the Joint Ministerial Decision, No 40776/6081/20-9-94.

ARTICLE 6.

The sufficient professional ability that the successor farmer disposes of or will obtain is to be proven in accordance with the provisions for natural persons of article 3 of the Joint Ministerial Decision No 339899/5-4-93 (The Official Gazette, issue B 12-4-93).

Modification of the Joint Ministerial Decision, No 407756/6081/20-9-94:

“Farmers’ Early Retirement Program, in the framework of the implementation of the Reg. (EEC) 2079/92”.

1. The first five lines of the Joint Decision, No 407756/6081/20-9-94, article 4, par. a, passage ee, are replaced by the following text:

“To cede their total agrarian exploitation to a <<successor>> with:

a. a definitive concession of their exploitation through a legally registered notary document, or

1. Leasing contract of at least fifteen years period, through a legally registered notary document or
2. a definitive concession of a part of the exploitation (20% at least) and a leasing contract of a fifteen years period, through a legally registered notary document, for the remaining exploitation.

2. To prove the above mentioned concession of their agrarian exploitation, the interested parties must present to the service units of the Agrarian Bank of Greece, within the time-limits that are being defined in the relative decisions, the supporting documents that are enlisted in the previous paragraph.