Article 2 - Project Agreements

California Food and Agricultural Code — §§ 58571-58580

Sections (8)

Added by Stats. 1985, Ch. 1189, Sec. 2.

(a)Project agreements may be entered into between the department and cooperators in order to address constraints and encourage the marketing of agricultural commodities in foreign countries. A project agreement may be limited to activities in one country, or may include activities in several countries. Project agreements shall include, but are not limited to, all of the following:

(1)A description of the commodity, or commodities, for which a project agreement is being requested and a statement that California export availabilities are expected to be adequate during the life of the project.

(2)A description of the applicant organization or firm.

(3)A justification for participation in the foreign market development program.

(4)A statement of proposed activities, including specific information on the activities to be conducted, the countries in which they will be undertaken, who will conduct or supervise them, and the expected results.

(5)An estimate of the level of project funds required and an indication of the availability of industry resources to match project funds and personnel needed to carry out the proposed program.

(b)Cooperator activities shall be described and budgeted in a marketing plan which becomes part of the project agreement. The marketing plan shall be separately submitted to the director who may approve or disapprove it. The marketing plan shall be reviewed annually at which time it may be revised by the cooperator or the department, or by both.

(c)The marketing plan shall include all of the following:

(1)The proposed expenditure of state funds and cooperator contributions.

(2)Information on how much funding has been received from the Foreign Agriculture Service in the last five years and if those funds have been requested for the current year.

(3)An identification of the constraints to expanding or maintaining California exports to each market area addressed by the plan.

(4)A description of the proposed activities and the amount of funds, both state and cooperator, to be spent to overcome or mitigate the constraints for the commodity, or commodities, and the country, or countries, covered by the plan.

(5)A report, if available, from local attachés or the counselors regarding potential marketing activities in their countries.

(d)A project agreement may not go into effect pursuant to this chapter without the director’s approval of both the marketing plan and the agreement itself.

(e)The cooperator shall administer and carry out the project agreement and shall permit the director or other state agencies to oversee and periodically inspect and investigate the administration of the project agreement.

§ 58572

Added by Stats. 1985, Ch. 1189, Sec. 2.

(a)The director may only approve a project agreement that appears to effectively contribute to the creation, expansion, or maintenance of markets abroad. Primary emphasis shall be on commercial markets. The director shall give preference to project agreements that demonstrate potential for establishing long-term benefits. Special consideration may also be given for any of the following:

(1)Cooperators who are new to the market.

(2)New product promotion.

(3)Cooperators who are unable to obtain federal cooperator status.

(4)Cooperators whose project proposals involve foreign markets not currently authorized pursuant to regulations adopted by the Foreign Agricultural Service.

(b)Approvals and priorities shall be based on the following criteria:

(1)Potential for creating, maintaining, or increasing consumption and exports of California agricultural commodities to other countries.

(2)Long-range contribution to California agricultural exports.

(3)Ability of the cooperator to provide a competent staff and other resources to ensure adequate development, supervision, and execution of project activities.

(4)Willingness and ability of private organizations to back up promotional activities with aggressive selling and adequate supplies of commodities of the quality desired by foreign buyers.

(5)Competition in the market.

(6)Cultural, political, and economic obstacles which restrict imports of California agricultural commodities into the markets.

(7)An assessment of the project costs compared to the benefits of expanding California agricultural exports.

§ 58573

Added by Stats. 1985, Ch. 1189, Sec. 2.

Project agreements may promote either a single commodity or a group of related commodities. Activities shall be aimed at increasing both consumer and commercial uses for agricultural commodities. Activities carried out by cooperators fall under the following three categories:

(a)Technical assistance, which includes activities to address technical problems related to trade impediments and to the sale, movement, processing, marketing, or utilization of agricultural commodities.

(b)Market development activities, which include activities involving foreign traders, importers, wholesalers, retailers, and foreign government officials who import, distribute, and market agricultural commodities.

(c)Consumer promotion activities, which include activities to influence consumers by changing attitudes toward, or making them aware of the advantages of utilizing, California agricultural products.

§ 58574

Amended by Stats. 1990, Ch. 100, Sec. 3. Effective May 18, 1990.

(a)State funds may be used to pay costs which are essential to, and clearly identifiable with, the carrying out of the activities specified in the marketing plan approved by the director.

(b)The director shall adopt regulations similar to those developed by the Foreign Agriculture Service of the United States Department of Agriculture to proscribe the unauthorized use of state funds pursuant to this chapter.

(c)Not more than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) shall be annually appropriated for this program’s state administrative costs, as specified in the annual Budget Act. The funds appropriated for administrative costs pursuant to this subdivision shall be derived from the redistribution of the total amount of funds that are appropriated in the annual Budget Act by the Legislature to carry out this chapter.

(d)Not more than 15 percent of the funds annually appropriated for this program shall be used for any one project agreement in any one year unless the director approves a higher level upon concurrence of a majority vote of the advisory committee authorized pursuant to Section 58576.

(e)Cooperators shall provide an annual contribution which is equal to or greater than the amount of state funds utilized for each project agreement.

§ 58575

Added by Stats. 1985, Ch. 1189, Sec. 2.

Activities undertaken pursuant to this chapter shall be supplemental to, and not a substitute for, any market development activities undertaken by the federal government.

§ 58577

Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 615, Sec. 130. (AB 474) Effective January 1, 2022. Operative January 1, 2023, pursuant to Sec. 463 of Stats. 2021, Ch. 615.

(a)(1) The director, the Director of General Services, and the advisory committee shall take necessary precautions to assure the confidentiality of the information that is contained in proposals for project agreements, market development plans, progress reports, documents in support of claims for funding under a project agreement, and other pertinent information submitted by individual marketing organizations.

(2)This information is exempt from the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code).

(b)Notwithstanding Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the advisory committee may hold a closed meeting if an applicant requests that the submitted information not be discussed in an open meeting and the committee determines that it is in the best interest of the program to conduct a closed meeting for that purpose.

§ 58578

Added by Stats. 1986, Ch. 218, Sec. 5. Effective June 30, 1986.

All project agreements entered into pursuant to this chapter, unless exempted in accordance with Section 10351 of the Public Contract Code, shall be submitted to the Director of General Services for approval. The director shall have 15 working days from the date of submittal to review and approve or disapprove.

§ 58580

Added by Stats. 1986, Ch. 218, Sec. 7. Effective June 30, 1986.

Nothing in this chapter precludes the director from separately funding project proposals coming from private or nonprofit agricultural marketing organizations, state marketing order boards, or commissions which are actively engaged in the marketing of the same commodities.