2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIVE - Agriculture (§§ 1 — 4706) › Chapter 66 - Agricultural Development of Valley of Yabucoa (§§ 1911 — 1917) › § 1915 - Valley of Yabucoa Integrated Development Plan

Through an integrated planning process, the Department of Agriculture, in coordination and collaboration with the Planning Board, the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, the Land Administration, the Municipality of Yabucoa, the College of Agronomists, and the School of Agricultural Sciences of the University of Puerto Rico, shall draft and implement a plan for the agricultural development of the Valley of Yabucoa. This integrated development plan shall adopt the following criteria:
(1) Delimit the lands comprising the Valley of Yabucoa.
(2) Establish the specific demarcation of the geographic area that shall be designated for agricultural use.
(3) Establish the programmatic standards and guidelines needed to achieve the development of the Valley of Yabucoa pursuant to the purposes established in this chapter.
(4) Develop agricultural initiatives in accordance with the public policy promulgated for the agriculture and livestock sector.
(5) Provide any incentives, subsidies, and assistance that the Department of Agriculture, as well as other instrumentalities of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico may have available, and that may be used for the agricultural development of this zone.
(6) Integrate private sector organizations that group different marketing channels such as supermarkets, food distributors, and others, in order to create marketing guarantees for agricultural production.
(7) Stimulate the farmers of the area to foster and participate in the ordination of the sectors or agricultural enterprises pursuant to the provisions of §§ 3051 et seq. of this title.
(8) Integrate the Yabucoa Farmers Association and other farmers’ organizations and private persons with special interest in the agricultural preservation of the Valley of Yabucoa, as well as the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture in the design process of the agricultural development plan.
(9) Coordinate with the Department of the Treasury the granting of tax incentives to the agricultural projects to be developed in the lands to be protected in the Valley of Yabucoa area, according to the provisions of §§ 10401 et seq. of Title 13, known as the “Agricultural Tax Incentives Act of Puerto Rico”.
(10) Address and approve with priority those petitions for the development of agricultural irrigation and drainage infrastructure, in accordance with the criteria established in the Agricultural Infrastructure Development Program, created under Joint Resolution No. 597 of December 1, 1995, as amended, whose purpose is to benefit new agricultural projects and carry out improvements or extensions to the established irrigation system infrastructure.
(11) Encourage Yabucoa’s farmers to assume their individual responsibilities on their lands in matters such as rights of way, irrigation, drainage, and housing for owners and employees.
(12) Integrate the School of Agricultural Sciences of the University of Puerto Rico in the development and use of state-of-the-art technology that shall serve as model for other areas of the Island.
(13) Establish that the natural forest located at Playa Guayanes shall be a reserve devoted to hunting and to protect nearby wetlands.
(14) Promote the development of renewable energy methods and take advantage of clean and inexhaustible energy sources.
(15) The provisions herein shall accord with the Territorial Ordination Plan of the Municipality of Yabucoa.
History —Aug. 3, 2009, No. 49, § 6.