Law No. 15/05 approving the Basic Agricultural Development Act.

This Law, consisting of 37 articles divided into seven Chapters, provides for the basic legislation for agriculture development. The Law establishes the development goals and rules for farmers and agricultural organizations. In particular it establishes the objectives pursued in the application of the Law as follows: a) rational use of natural resources and preservation of the patterns of their regenerative capacity; b) increase production, productivity, and competitiveness of agriculture sector and improve the socio-economic situation of the rural population; c) preserve the socio-economic balance of the rural environment in country's integrated development. The conservation and enhancement of the national forest heritage is a key issue for sustainable agricultural development, within a framework of territorial planning and meeting the present and future needs of the society. The State encourages and supports the adoption of specific measures to protect and improve the forest heritage.
In order to achieve the aforementioned objectives, the State must promote, the following activities: a) enhance human resources, through the professional training of farmers and rural workers; h) grant incentives for the direct exploitation of the land and the establishment of young farmers; c) regulate, increase and create irrigated, forestry and sylvo-pastoralism areas for a better use of the soil; d) organize agricultural and forestry markets and improve commercial efficiency; e) encourage cooperatives and socio-economic associations for farmers' participation in the designing of agrarian policy and the transformation and trade of the respective productions; f) support the development of activities related with agricultural exploitation, especially in areas with harsh conditions or with specific ecosystems; g) reduce gradually the State's responsibilities in the agrarian sector with the progressive transfer of functions to agricultural and inter-professional organizations; i) increase research and rural capacity building in a participatory way.