UA Parliament passes bill on agricultural cooperation
KYIV. July 21 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada passed at the final stage bill No. 0856 on agricultural cooperation.
An Interfax-Ukraine correspondent has reported that the bill was supported by 238 MPs.
The bill on agricultural cooperation is aimed at systemic and comprehensive regulation of all legal relations for the creation, operation and termination of agricultural cooperatives.
In particular, they are encouraged to abandon the strict division of agricultural cooperatives by type into production and servicing cooperatives, allowing the members (founders) of the agricultural cooperative to independently choose the types of activity: production, servicing, processing or multifunctional, as well as the form of activity – with or without the purpose of making a profit... Accordingly, the transition to a single organizational and legal form – an agricultural cooperative – is proposed.
Agricultural cooperatives acting for the purpose of making a profit (regardless of the type of activity chosen) are entitled to carry out transactions with persons who are not members or associate members of such cooperatives, provided that the total cost of such services and operations does not exceed 20% of the cooperative's proceeds, and without restrictions on the transfer of ownership of the products of its members.
The bill also provides for the need to create a development fund in each agricultural cooperative, the funds of which and the property acquired from these funds are not subject to distribution among its members. This will allow channeling a part of the profit of an agricultural cooperative (at least 5% of its net profit), as well as government support funds, grants, international technical assistance to the development of the material and technical base of cooperatives, the acquisition of fixed assets, the implementation of measures for cooperative education, the development of cooperation.
