2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIVE - Agriculture (§§ 1 — 4706) › Chapter 63 - Agricultural Services Administration (§§ 1851 — 1868) › § 1855 - General powers

In addition to other powers provided in this chapter, the Administration shall have, and is hereby granted, all the rights and powers that may be necessary and convenient to implement the above mentioned public policy and purposes, including, but in no way being limited to the following:
(a) To sue and be sued.
(b) To hold public acts and execute agreements and contracts of any kind needed to perform and comply with the purposes of this chapter; Provided, That any change in the standards, agreements, and contracts established, which entails future disbursement of funds, must have prior approval of the Secretary or his delegated official.
(c) To establish the bylaws, norms and procedures needed for its operation and internal functioning and to regulate the Administration’s programs and activities.
(d) To make payments to supplement or guarantee the price levels at which farm products are sold.
(e) To guarantee the prices of farm products by regions, zones, or groups of farmers.
(f) To promote the orderly marketing of farm products.
(g) Provide all types of services needed for the distribution and marketing process of farming and animal husbandry products, with or without subsidies.
(h) To promote the consumption of Puerto Rican farm products by every possible means.
(i) To transfer the farm products it acquires to government, state, or municipal institutions and other nonprofit entities, free of charge, or at prices lower than cost, when it is deemed necessary in the public interest.
(j) To establish production quotas for farm produce. In such cases, price guarantees, supplementary payments and other aids which may be provided herein shall be limited to the quotas established.
(k) To furnish financial assistance to farmers for the payment of government or private farm insurance, if the Administrator, or his representative, considers the farmer is unable to pay it by himself.
(l) To perform, or furnish financial assistance so that farmers may perform adaptation, development or purchase tests of machinery or equipment, needed or advisable for the production, processing or marketing of farm produce, and to promote the development of agribusiness projects.
(m) To use funds in training farmers, employees, workers or professionals, in or outside Puerto Rico, in direct service to agriculture, or to subsequently serve in any matter connected with the production, marketing or processing of farm produce.
(n) To request and obtain any funds, grants or aids from the federal government, the Commonwealth government, including its agencies, instrumentalities, public corporations and its political subdivisions, or from private sources, to fulfill the purposes of this chapter. It may also sponsor projects originated under federal laws; act as an intermediary agency, and supervise the use of the funds so acquired. This authorization does not extend to those federal programs, where other agencies of the Commonwealth have been lawfully designated as the agencies charged with participating in such programs, unless the functions of such agencies have been transferred to the Administration.
(o) To have exclusive control over its properties and activities.
(p) To determine the nature and need of all its expenses and the way in which they shall be incurred, authorized and paid.
(q) To acquire property by any legal means; to hold and administer it or any interest therein, which the Administration may deem necessary to perform its purposes, and to lease, sell or dispose of that property or interest which is no longer useful for such purposes.
(r) To acquire lands and any other property and rights necessary to carry out the purposes for which the Administration was created, through condemnation. When, in the judgment of the Administration, it is necessary to take immediate possession of the property to be condemned, the Administration shall request the Secretary, and the latter shall request the Governor, to acquire it in the name and on behalf of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The Secretary shall be empowered to acquire the property and real property rights, necessary and adequate to carry out the purposes and ends hereof, for the use and benefit of the Administration, by any means authorized by law. The Administration shall advance the necessary funds to the Commonwealth for the acquisition of said property and rights. Any difference in the purchase value hereof must be paid by the Administration. If the Administration does not have sufficient funds to pay the difference at the time the transaction is carried out, it may borrow the amount needed.
The title deed shall be transferred to the Administration by order of the court, after it reimburses the total amount of money borrowed. To hasten the fulfillment of administrative objectives and purposes in those cases where the Governor, or the official or employee whom he delegates, deems it proper and necessary that the title to the property and rights so acquired be recorded directly on behalf of the Administration, he may request the court to do so at any time during the eminent domain proceedings, and the court shall so order. All personal and real property, and rights or interest thereon, which the Administration deems necessary for its administrative purposes, are hereby declared of public utility, and as such, may be condemned by, or for the use of the Administration, without the previous declaration of public utility provided by §§ 2901-2913 of Title 32. When the petition for acquisition is filed, the court shall be empowered to fix the terms and conditions under which the persons owning such property must make physical delivery thereof to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or to the Administration. The acquisition by and delivery of the property to the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or to the Administration shall not be delayed by any appeal or security given.
(s) To study, formulate, administer, dispose, maintain, repair, purchase, acquire, lease, possess, use, assign, operate, produce, promote, sell, develop, construct or take or give as a loan, impose any lien in relation to personal or real properties, use these properties as security of any kind, or perform any action with regard to lands, money, farm products, services, facilities, capital improvement, equipment, material, machinery, crops, livestock or any other property, products, businesses, operations, conditions, means or facilities needed or used for the production, distribution, conservation, processing, packing, transportation, storage, purchase, sale, designation, or any other farming activities or those related to farm products or by-products, or products needed or used for farming in the broadest sense of the word.
(t) To establish its own operations and activities, or support, encourage or participate in activities and operations of persons who may favor the development of agriculture. It may also establish or encourage, or participate in the establishment and development of projects to demonstrate methods and results, and promote the development of agribusiness projects.
(u) To render services, give technical aid and allow the use of its personal and real property, with or without compensation therefor.
(v) To cancel those debts which it considers uncollectable or which may cause expenses exceeding their value if collected, pursuant to the following rules:
(1) Period the debt has been overdue, which shall not be less than five (5) years.
(2) Insolvency and impossibility on the part of the debtor or his heirs, to pay such debt and reasonable possibility to collect it.
(3) The debtor’s efforts and desire to pay the debt.
(w) To possess, control and develop lands without limitation as to area.
(x) To acquire, own and dispose of corporate stock which encourages the development of farming; and to take steps to organize and exercise partial or full control over profitable or nonprofit companies or associations; provided it is advisable or needed to fulfill the purposes of the Administration or the exercise of its powers.
(y) To enter any land or building with permission of its owner or holder, or of his representative, to perform any study or investigation, or to carry out any other action or activity related to the performance of the duties imposed hereby, and the exercise of the powers conferred by this chapter. If the owner or holder, or his representative, does not permit the Administration to enter the property for the purposes stated, any judge of the Court of First Instance, who receives an affidavit stating the intention of the Administration to enter said lands or buildings for such purposes, shall issue an order authorizing any official, employee or representative of the Administration, to enter the property described in the affidavit, for the purposes set forth in this subsection.
(z) To appoint personnel and hire workers, officials, agents, employees and professionals or technicians and to fix and pay the pertinent remuneration or emoluments.
(aa) To issue and implement the assignments of payments made by any one person to the order of any other one, regarding any amount that the Administration must pay for any reason, and to institute the organization and procedures to process the assignments of payments to be issued and executed.
(bb) To promote the economic and social betterment of the rural zone.
(cc) Regulate the rendering of any service, credit or real and personal property leasing, including machinery and equipment, that is granted to any farmer or farming and animal husbandry enterprise so that the aforementioned rendering will be subject to ensuring that the party who benefits thereof uses the best known practices for environmental, soil, aquifer, subterranean river and surface water conservation. Said regulations shall establish the norms for compliance therewith as well as the penalties. However, the Administration is hereby empowered to summarily suspend or cancel any service rendered should it obtain evidence through a statement duly sworn to before a notary, indicating that the farmer or farming and animal husbandry enterprise is acting contrary to environmental or soil conservation practices.
History —June 7, 1977, No. 33, p. 62, § 5; June 5, 1985, No. 29, p. 99, § 6; Sept. 19, 1997, No. 122, § 2.