Family farmers markets: selling and buying local

These are the markets where the person who grew it sells to you directly, and the Act sets two conditions that matter on both sides of the stall. For the buyer: what is sold there must have originated in Puerto Rico, and the Department of Agriculture is obliged to go to the farm to verify it. For the seller: a farmer certification is needed, requested through ADEA, and being there without one is a violation carrying a fine.

To sell, the Act defines “Farmer/Producer” in Article 3(6) as “any natural person engaged in the production of agricultural products, animal raising, aquaculture and others, in Puerto Rico.” A natural person: the definition does not mention corporations. Article 4 adds the step: “Every farmer wishing to take part and sell agricultural products at the markets must complete an application through ADEA in order to be qualified,” and it is ADEA that sets by regulation the requirements to qualify, take part and sell. There is a limit that surprises families who farm together: Article 8(2) prohibits issuing a farmer certification for these markets “to a person from the same family household where a farmer certification of that type already exists, unless the person applying for the new certification holds independent agricultural businesses established under the applicable laws.” To buy there is no requirement at all.

• Be a natural person engaged in the production of agricultural products, animal raising, aquaculture or others, in Puerto Rico.Verified against the official source
• Complete an application through ADEA to be qualified, meeting the requirements ADEA sets by regulation.Verified against the official source
• Hold the authorised-farmer certification before taking part: taking part without it is prohibited.Verified against the official source
• Sell only agricultural products originated in Puerto Rico, or processed products whose raw material comes from Puerto Rico.Verified against the official source
• That no farmer certification of that type already exists in your same family household, unless you hold independent and established agricultural businesses.Verified against the official source

Information pending verification.

1. 1

   Step 1: If you are buying: why there it really is local

   It is not a promise from the stall, it is an agency duty. Article 4 says every farmers market promoted by this Act “shall have as its purpose the promotion and sale of agricultural products originated in Puerto Rico,” and continues: “It shall be the responsibility of the Department of Agriculture, through ADEA, to visit the farms of the farmers who sell at the farmers markets, as well as to verify the origin of all agricultural products sold at the markets to guarantee they originated in Puerto Rico.” Visit the farm, not just look at the table. And Article 8(1) closes it from the other side by prohibiting “the sale of agricultural products not originated in Puerto Rico, or processed products whose raw material did not originate in Puerto Rico.”

2. 2

   Step 2: If you are selling: the application goes through ADEA

   A single door, and it is named in the Act. Article 4: “Every farmer wishing to take part and sell agricultural products at the markets must complete an application through ADEA in order to be qualified. ADEA shall establish by regulation the requirements necessary to qualify, take part and sell at the farmers markets.” ADEA is the Administration for the Development of Agricultural Enterprises, and its marketing division is the one that provides “the assistance, advice and technical and logistical support” to organise these markets. We do not publish the form or the concrete requirements because they live in that regulation and we did not read it.

3. 3

   Step 3: Watch out for the household rule

   It is the least expected prohibition and worth knowing before filing two applications from one house. Article 8(2) prohibits “issuing a farmer certification for the farmers markets to a person from the same family household where a farmer certification of that type already exists, unless the person applying for the new certification holds independent agricultural businesses established under the applicable laws.” The exception exists, but it demands independent agricultural businesses established under the applicable laws, not just a separate plot.

4. 4

   Step 4: Where these markets are supposed to exist

   The Act does not limit them to the metro area or a few towns. Article 4 provides “that the development of said farmers markets shall be carried out in the seventy-eight (78) municipalities of Puerto Rico, including the island municipalities of Vieques and Culebra.” If there is none in your town, that is the provision you can cite when asking at the Department of Agriculture or your municipality. Article 5 adds who supervises during the formation stage: “The Markets Section of the Agricultural and Industrial Economy Division of the Department of Agriculture shall be the supervising agent of the operations of the Family Farmers Markets.”

5. 5

   Step 5: The El Mercado Familiar Project

   The Act records a concrete project and places a duty on two agencies. Article 4: “in view of the work done in creating a plan developed by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Family, the El Mercado Familiar Project has been created. It shall be the responsibility of both agencies to achieve this Project’s permanent establishment, as part of the farmers markets, for the benefit of Puerto Rican consumers and farmers.” We name it because the Act names it. We publish no schedules, venues or project requirements because the text carries none and we do not invent them.

6. 6

   Step 6: What is risked by selling uncertified or selling imported

   Article 9 sets the scale and says who enforces: “The Secretary of the Department of Agriculture shall delegate enforcement of this Act to the Markets Inspection Office.” And then: “Any person who violates the provisions of this Act, any regulation approved under it or an order or resolution of the Department … shall incur a violation and shall be imposed on the first occasion an administrative fine of five hundred (500) dollars. On each subsequent occasion a person commits a violation a fine of up to five thousand (5,000) dollars shall be imposed.” The fine may be imposed on the spot: “at the time of making a visit or inspection, or at the time of identifying the violation.” The good part is that the same article requires the Department to establish by regulation “the appeal procedure to which any person on whom an administrative fine has been imposed shall be entitled.”

At the Administration for the Development of Agricultural Enterprises (ADEA), where Article 4 requires the application to be filed for qualification and which sets the requirements by regulation. The Markets Section of the Agricultural and Industrial Economy Division of the Department of Agriculture supervises operations, and the Markets Inspection Office enforces. The Act publishes no form, office, address, telephone, deadline or market calendar, and we do not invent them.

• Setting up the stall without certification: taking part in the markets without the proper authorised-farmer certification is prohibited by Article 8(3).
• Filling out the table with imported produce: selling agricultural products not originated in Puerto Rico is prohibited.
• Believing a processed product is exempt: it is also prohibited if its raw material did not originate in Puerto Rico.
• Seeking two certifications from one house: it is not issued to another person of the same household unless they hold independent and established agricultural businesses.
• Looking for the application at the Department without going through ADEA: the Act says it is filed through ADEA.
• Assuming the inspection is desk-based: ADEA must visit the farm of the farmer selling at the market.
• Thinking the fine is argued later: it may be imposed at the time of the visit or inspection, though the Department must establish an appeal procedure.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento de Agricultura de Puerto Rico

  Agricultura

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov