Law No. 566 “On agricultural cooperation.”

This Law establishes the legal framework for the organization and operation of cooperatives in agriculture. The agricultural cooperative represents an autonomous association of natural and/or legal persons, as the case may be, a legal person under private law, established on the basis the freely expressed consent of the parties, in order to promote the interests of the cooperative members, in accordance with the cooperative principles, which are organized and operate according to the provisions of this Law. The agricultural cooperative is an autonomous association with an unlimited number of members, with variable capital, which exercises economic, technical and social activity to provide goods, services and jobs exclusively or predominantly to its members. The agricultural cooperative is established and operates with a minimum number of 5 people. Agricultural cooperation includes cooperatives, legal entities by fields and branches of activity, such as: (a) agricultural service cooperatives, which provide services for small producers in a cooperative system; (b) cooperatives for agricultural acquisitions and sales, which organize both the purchases of materials and technical means necessary for agricultural production, as well as the sales of agricultural products; (c) agricultural cooperatives for the processing of agricultural commodities; (d) agricultural cooperatives for manufacturing and small industry in agriculture; (e) agricultural cooperatives for the exploitation and management of agricultural land, forestry, fishing and livestock; (f) agricultural cooperatives for financing, mutual assistance and agricultural insurance; and (g) agricultural cooperatives of the types above-mentioned and of other types that will be established in compliance with the provisions of this Law. Agricultural cooperatives are based on the following cooperative principles: (a) the principle of voluntary and open association; (b) the principle of democratic control of cooperative members within the cooperative; (c) the principle of economic participation of cooperative members; (d) the principle of autonomy and independence of agricultural cooperatives; (e) the principle of education, training and informing cooperative members; (f) the principle of cooperation between agricultural cooperatives; and (g) the principle of concern for the sustainable development of communities.