2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIVE - Agriculture (§§ 1 — 4706) › Chapter 60B - Agricultural Development of Vega Baja (§§ 1765 — 1769) › § 1769 - Plan for the development of the Vega Baja Agricultural Reserve

The Department of Agriculture, through an integrate planning process, in coordination and collaboration with the Land Authority, the Planning Board, the Municipality of Vega Baja, the Puerto Rico Cooperative Development Commission, and the College of Agricultural Sciences of the University of Puerto Rico, shall draft and implement a plan for the agricultural development of the Agricultural Reserve. The plan shall be implemented not later than five hundred forty (540) days as of the approval of this act.
This integral development plan shall take into consideration the following criteria:
(1) The exact delimitation of the extension of all the lands comprised within the Agricultural Reserve.
(2) To establish the specific delimitation of the geographical area to be designated for agricultural use.
(3) To restore the old irrigation system of the rice program and its draining canals according to its current needs.
(4) To establish the governing and programmatic guidelines necessary to achieve the development of the Agricultural Reserve, according to the purposes consigned in this chapter.
(5) To develop agricultural initiatives, including those of cooperative nature, in agreement with the public policy promulgated for the agriculture and livestock sector, and an intensive campaign for the agricultural exploitation of these lands.
(6) To provide the assistance and incentives available to the agriculture and livestock sector in this zone.
(7) It is hereby recommended to promote the integration of the private sector entities that group supermarkets and food distributors, among others, to establish marketing guarantees for the produce generated in the premises of this Agricultural Reserve.
(8) To integrate the design of the agricultural development plan into farmer organizations, farming cooperatives, agricultural production groups, the Agronomists Association and individual citizens with special interest in the agricultural development and conservation of the Agricultural Reserve.
(9) To give priority to the handling and approval of requests pertaining to the development of agricultural irrigation and drainage infrastructure.
(10) To promote that the farmers of the area through the creation of cooperative entities and those other mechanisms that may apply, individually assume responsibility over their lands in areas such as easements, irrigation, drainage, and housing for the owners and employees, as well as the provisions of this chapter.
(11) To integrate the Agricultural Experiment Station into the development and use of advanced technology to serve as a model for other zones of the Island.
(12) To coordinate with the Department of the Treasury for the granting of tax benefits for agricultural projects to be developed in the Agricultural Reserve, pursuant to the provisions in §§ 10401 et seq. of Title 13, known as the “Puerto Rico Agricultural Tax Incentives Act”.
(13) Every development or agricultural procedure shall be carried out at a margin of not less than twenty-five (25) meters on each side of the Cibuco River riverbed as a buffer zone, and as good practice for the management of hydrographic basins in order to reduce the risk of contaminating the body of water with pesticides or fertilizers, by erosion or sedimentation. The Cibuco River shall be an integral part of the reserve and all commonwealth and federal regulations in effect for the protection and management of bodies of water shall apply thereto. The extraction of water from Cibuco River shall be handled adequately to prevent the deterioration of the water resource and its ecology.
(14) To create a buffer zone for the Cibuco Swamp Natural Reserve by means of special zoning to reduce the risk of contamination with pesticides or fertilizers, and the erosion or sedimentation of said natural reserve.
(15) To protect the ecological integrity of the aquifer system to prevent its contamination with pesticides, fertilizers, or others. It shall be necessary to conduct adequate management of the water extraction wells of the reserve land in order to prevent risking the hydrological capabilities or the salinization of the aquifers.
(16) Each farmer shall prepare a conservation management plan to achieve the adequate management of the agricultural processes within the farms in the Agricultural Reserve.
(17) An Interagency Evaluating Committee shall be established with not more than seven (7) members, to be presided by the Secretary of Agriculture, composed of agronomists, which shall include representatives from the Land Authority, the Department of Agriculture, the Municipality of Vega Baja, the Puerto Rico Cooperative Development Commission, who do not need to be an agronomist, and related organizations designated by the Secretary of Agriculture. This committee shall consider the proposals of those farmers interested in cultivating the Agricultural Reserve, including those of cooperative nature, thus ensuring the quality of the agricultural practices in the reserve.
(18) To prohibit segregations by the Regulations and Permits Administration of less than fifty (50) cuerdas of land.
History —Sept. 22, 2004, No. 398, § 5; Dec. 16, 2011, No. 250, § 1.