Regional Act No. 9 on the promotion and exploitation of organic agricultural production, 1994.

This Regional Act was enacted to encourage and exploit organic agricultural production, research into, experimentation with, and the dissemination and development of organic farming techniques in the Sardinia Region. This Regional Act refers to the organic farming techniques indicated in EC Regulation No. 2092/91 of 24 June 1991 and subsequent amendments. It also refers to schedules I, II and III of the EC Regulation defining an organic agricultural undertaking, and part B of Annex III which defines the organic processing undertaking. The Regional Agricultural Development and Technical Assistance Agency (Ersat) is the institution appointed pursuant to the EC Regulation to receive notification, to update and keep the records, monitor agricultural production using organic farming and organic processing techniques, impose the statutory penalties, etc. The Regional Act authorizes the Regional Executive Council to register a collective mark of origin and quality to identify the products obtained using organic production and organic processing techniques. The mark must be used solely to distinguish agricultural products obtained in Sardinia or to process agricultural products or by-products produced in Sardinia. The Regional Department for Agriculture and Agricultural and Pastoral Reform is responsible, inter alia, for promoting the study and analysis of the environment impact of agricultural techniques, organising seminars and courses for the extension of organic agricultural techniques, promoting the incorporation of these techniques into vocational training syllabuses, and providing technical assistance.
Until the entry into force of Community regulations relating to the specific control measures and the principles to be used for the organic production of animals and products containing ingredients of animal origin for human consumption, the collective mark of origin and quality may be used, as a transitional measure, to distinguish unprocessed animal products and products for human consumption containing ingredients of animal origin obtained using the animal husbandry techniques laid down in the Act. The Act provides financial incentives and facilities to encourage organic agriculture. In order to promote the use of biological pest control strategies for crops, farmers and agricultural cooperatives qualify for a grant to cover 75 percent of the cost of implementing biological pest control systems. Farms which have been granted the use of the mark mentioned earlier qualify for a grant of 60 percent of the eligible expenses for improving the lands to be used for organic farming. The rest of the expenditure may be covered by loans repayable over 15 years, at low rates of interest. Any communities which take in mentally or physically handicapped persons, minors, elderly people or drug abusers, and cooperatives for prisoners and former prisoners which possess organic farms or which introduce programmes to convert traditional agricultural techniques, qualify for grants of up to 90 percent of the eligible expenses. Grants are also available to public entities, giving priority to university and higher educational establishments that run theoretical/practical organic farming courses.