CHARTER OF THE FIELD CROPS PRODUCERS CENTER UNION
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CHARTER OF THE FIELD CROPS PRODUCERS CENTER UNION
CHAPTER ONE
ESTABLISHMENT AND OBJECTIVES
ESTABLISHMENT
Article 1-Field Crops Producers Center Union shall consist of; producer unions established at minimum district level by agricultural producers who are carrying out manufacturing works in Grains, Edible grain legumes, Industrial plants, Oilseed plants, Forage plants, Tea, Medicinal and Aromatic Spice products and product groups.
- The headquarters of the Center Union is in Ankara.
- Working area of the Center Union is in Turkey.
OBJECTIVES
Article 2-To assist and guide the Union members established in Grains, Edible grain legumes, Industrial plants, Oilseed plants, Forage plants, Tea, Medicinal and Aromatic Spice products and product groups who are already members of Center Union or who will be member in the future so that their products will comply with the production scheme on the national level and the rules required for marketing these products.
SCOPE
Article 3-This Charter shall cover the provisions on the establishment, working procedures and principles of Field Crops Producers Center Union to be formed by producer unions established in Grains, Edible grain legumes, Industrial plants, Oilseed plants, Forage plants, Tea, Medicinal and Aromatic Spice products and product groups and their relations with Ministries and other organizations.
LEGAL BASIS
Article 4-This Charter was prepared on the basis of Article 13 of the Law on Agricultural Producers Union numbered 5200, which entered into force after being published in Official Gazette dated 06/07/2004 and numbered 25514. In cases where there is no clear provision in this Charter, Law on Agricultural Producers Union Numbered 5200, Law of Associations Numbered 5253 and the provisions of the relevant regulation and the general provisions regarding the subject shall prevail.
DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES OF THE CENTER UNION
Article 5- (Approval dated 12/04/2018 and numbered E.1095689 and Amendment to the Extraordinary General Meeting dated 29/04/2018.) The functions of the Center Union are:
- To make production plans at the national level of the products that the member unions of the Center Union are producing,
- Supporting and directing member unions in order to comply with the rules regarding the marketing of the products of the member unions, conducting market research and developing the marketing chain,
- Supporting, monitoring and evaluating the activities of the Member Unions,
- To represent member unions in and out of the country,
- To participate in the work undertaken by the Union of Turkish Agricultural Chambers regarding field crops and sending representatives to their advisory committee
- To send representatives to product councils based on sectoral/products as well as similar organizations that are already or to be established and to undertake joint works as a part of the National Agricultural Policies, in addition, to undertake the necessary functions which result from the common market structure in order to meet the needs that arise from the developments in the European Union accession process,
- To make efforts to fulfill the requirements of production programs at the national level, to undertake, to get done and to publish production value estimates in accordance with the instructions to be obtained by the Ministry,
- If necessary, to receive technical and financial support (grants, credits) from domestic and foreign sources or to act as an intermediary for the unions/producers so that they can receive such support,
- To cooperate with and to become a member of national and international organizations in relation to the area of work,
- To undertake all work in alignment with the purpose of establishment
- To establish a commercial enterprise.
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CHAPTER TWO
TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP
NUMBER OF MEMBERS
Article 6-The number of members in the Center union is unlimited.
TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP
Article 7-It is necessary to fulfill the following conditions in order to become a member of the Center Union.
- To pay the membership fee determined for the Center Union in advance,
- To have the decision taken during the last General Assembly meeting on forming a union and electing a representative and to have an authorization certificate in this regard in order to become a founding member/member of the Center Union.
WITHDRAWAL FROM MEMBERSHIP
Article 8-Unions that have become members of the Center Union appeal to the Center Union with a decision to withdraw from membership in their General Assembly Meetings and their memberships are terminated by the decision of the Center Union Board of Directors. The union withdrawn from the membership shall be obliged to clear off any debts and receivables regarding the Center Union as of the date of withdrawal. Any debts or receivables that may arise from the membership periods of the concerned union shall be reserved. Upon termination of the member union, its receivables shall be transferred to the members of the union whose membership is terminated.
MEMBERSHIP DISMISSAL
Article 9-Producers could be dismissed from membership in following cases:
- Failure to comply with the provisions of the Law, Regulation and Charter,
- To act against the Center Union,
- Failure to comply with the instructions of the Center Union,
- Failure to pay the membership fees to the Center Union and to fulfill its commitments for the Center Union.
Membership dismissal shall be realized in the form of temporary exclusion with the decision of Center Union Board of Directors. All rights of the member shall persist until the final exclusion is decided. The situation of the dismissed member union is discussed during the first general meeting and a definitive judgment is given in this regard.
CHAPTER THREE MEMBERSHIP FEE
Article 10-At the rates determined by the General Assembly, the union shall receive a share from the membership fees of the unions having members. This amount cannot be more than 10% of the membership revenues of the unions. Entrance fee shall be paid in advance for one-time during application process. Entrance fee has been set at 100 YTL. These fees are discussed and finalized during the first General Meeting.
REVENUES OF THE CENTER UNION
Article 11-The revenues of the Center union are given below.
- Entrance and membership fees paid by member unions to the Center Union,
- Donations granted by members and third parties,
- Revenues to be derived from the funds and budget items that the European Union and other national or international organizations will provide for the support and training of agricultural producers who are carrying out manufacturing works in Grains, Edible grain legumes, Industrial plants, Oilseed plants, Forage plants, Tea, Medicinal and Aromatic Spice products and product groups.
- Revenues generated from movable and immovable properties,
- Advertising, promotion and publication revenues,
- Other revenues.
EXPENDITURES OF THE CENTER UNION
Article 12-The expenses of the Center Union are given below.
The expenditures of the Center union shall include costs of the activities carried out in accordance with the purposes of the establishment and other costs to be incurred to protect the rights and interests of the members.
BOOKS OF THE CENTER UNION
Article 13-The books of the Center Union shall include:
- Minute book,
- Member registration book,
- Incoming and outgoing paper books,
- Book on the basis of balance sheet,
- Budget final account book and balance sheet book,
- Plant ledger,
- Receipt registry book.
CHAPTER FOUR
BODIES OF CENTER UNION
Article 14-The bodies of the Center Union shall include:
- The General Assembly,
- Board of Directors.
- Supervisory Board.
DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Article 15-The General Assembly of the Center Union shall consist of representatives to be elected by the general assemblies of the member unions.
Duties and Authorizations of the General Assembly are as follows:
- To elect the members of the board of directors and supervisory board,
- To examine the study reports,
- To decide whether to acquit reports prepared by the board of directors and supervisory board,
- To accept or refuse final accounts,
- To discuss and approve the budget and the work schedule to be proposed by the board of directors,
- To authorize the board of directors for personnel transactions, purchase or sale of movable and immovable properties and determination of membership fees,
- To approve dismissal from membership,
- To take other decisions and measures,
FORM AND TIME OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING
Article 16-
The general assembly shall convene in three forms: establishment, ordinary and extraordinary. General assembly's establishment meeting shall be held within the first six months following the registration of the Center Union's Charter by the Ministry. All union representatives who are recognized as members in the Provisional Board of Directors shall have the right to participate in the general assembly meeting.
The ordinary general assembly meeting shall be held every two years upon the invitation of the board of directors and within six months by the end of the accounting period of the second year.
If the issues required to be discussed by the general assembly regarding the activities of the Center union arise, the General Assembly may be convened for extraordinary meeting. The extraordinary general assembly meeting can be convened by the decision of the supervisory board, the decision of the board of directors and upon the written request made by 1/3 of the members of the general assembly. Otherwise, justice of the-peace shall appoint three members of the Center union to convene the general assembly meeting upon the application made by one of the member unions.
The general assembly meeting shall be held at the place where the union headquarters is located. The venue of the general assembly meeting shall be determined to ensure that the meeting is held in a healthy and appropriate manner.
The board of directors shall make a general assembly meeting call and announcement specifying the day, time, venue and agenda of the meeting in the official gazette 15 days before the date of the first general assembly meeting of those years at the end of the second year. If the majority cannot be achieved in the announcement, the date, time and venue of the second meeting shall also be determined. This period cannot be less than seven days and more than sixty days. The agenda shall be determined by the parties convening the general assembly. Only the items included in the agenda shall be discussed during the general assembly meeting. However, if one tenth of the members that present at the meeting in person makes a written request to add some items to agenda, such items must be added to the agenda.
The matters which are required to be discussed and finalized by the general assembly in accordance with the reports prepared by the inspectors or controllers of the Ministry as a result of the inspection activity, shall be discussed at the first general meeting to be held.
Identification documents of the representatives who will enter the meeting venue shall be controlled by the board members or the officials appointed by the board of directors before the meeting. Members shall enter the meeting hall by signing their names in the list which is prepared by the board of directors. Members, who do not show identification, do not sign the list and do not have the right to attend the general assembly meeting shall not be allowed to the meeting venue. These persons and those who are not members of the union may follow the general assembly meeting in a separate department.
The general assembly shall convene with the absolute majority of the exact representative numbers. If the quorum of the meeting is ensured, this situation is determined by a record of trial and the meeting is declared open by board chairman or by a member of the board who is appointed by the chairman. After opening the general assembly meeting, a chairman and a vice chairman in adequate numbers, a clerk and a canvasser shall be elected to administrate the meeting. No delegate shall be able to vote in decisions that must be taken with respect to a legal act or dispute between the center union and himself/herself, his/her spouse, the superior and the subordinate. The issues discussed and decisions taken during the meeting shall be written in a minute and council chairman and clerks, canvassers and ministry representatives shall sign this minute. In the end of the meeting, written proceedings and other documents are delivered to the chairman of the board. Chairman of the Board shall be responsible for the protection of these documents and delivering them to the newly elected board of directors within seven days.
If a quorum is not constituted in the first meeting, the second meeting shall be held on the same agenda, without any majority condition, within a period not less than seven days and not more than sixty days.
If the meeting is postponed due to any other reason except lack of quorum, in this case by indicating the underlying reasons of postpone, announced to the members in accordance with the procedure of convention for the first meeting. From the date of adjournment second meeting must be held within six months. Members are recalled to the second meeting in accordance with principles stated in the sixth paragraph.
Union representatives who become a member of the Center Union after publishing the announcement of the general assembly meeting in the official gazette cannot attend the general assembly.
It is compulsory to have a representative of the Ministry in the general assembly meetings. The representative of the Ministry is requested from the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock. If the representative of the Ministry does not participate in the meeting, the relevant Ministry shall be notified in this regard. If the representative does not participate in the meeting after the notification, the meeting is started at the end of one hour and the absence of the ministry representative is determined by a minute.
The elections shall be held by open or secret ballot according to the decision to be made by the general assembly. Election papers sealed by the Center union are used in the elections of the board of directors and auditors which are held with open classification. These papers are given to representatives who have signed the "list of attendees". The use of empty voting papers sealed by the center union is essential during secret ballot. However, printed voting papers can also be used provided that a decision is taken by the general assembly in this direction. The decision to be taken by the general assembly in the direction of only using the printed voting paper is invalid.
During elections, the original members and the same number of substitute member candidates are written together in separate chapters for the board of directors, supervisory board, or national and international senior unions on the voting papers.
If more names are written in the ballot papers for the organs and senior union representatives, the chapter involving the extra names will be canceled. It is possible to delete the previously written names and replace them with new names on the voting papers.
In the elections, the persons receiving the highest votes are deemed to be elected. In case of equal votes, drawing of lots is applied if deemed appropriate by the Council Chairman. Sorting of the selected substitutes is performed according to the number of votes. In case of equal votes, the sorting in the list will be based on.
The same conditions shall apply for voting papers reproduced by printing or taking print out from the printer. The representatives will cast their votes in the ballot box in the presence of sorting committee.
When the sorting is started, the votes are checked by the number of representatives counted. The excess votes are canceled before the ballot papers are opened.
More than one ballot box may be used in consideration of the number of representatives, provided that the general assembly decides upon during the election of Board Members and Supervisory Board Members and the upper union representatives. After the vote sorting is completed, the results are recorded in the minutes.
INTERIM BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Matter 17- This board shall consist of the authorized representatives of the 13 Field Crops Producers Center Union which is established based on the Agricultural Producers Union Law Numbered 5200 and the provisions of relevant regulation.
The interim board of directors shall represent the center union until the first general assembly meeting is held.
DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Article 18- (Amendment accepted in Extraordinary General Assembly dated 29/04/2018.) The board of directors shall consist of at least 5 and at most 7 original members to be elected among the member union representatives for a period of four years. In addition, the same number of alternate members is elected.
However, if the number of representatives of the Center Union does not cover the number of original and alternate members necessary for the board of directors and auditors, the original and alternate members of the board of directors and auditors can be elected from among the representatives of the center union and the member unions.
Duties and Authorities of the Board of Directors:
- Accepting members.
- To determine the agenda of the General Assembly, to prepare the program of activities of the center union and to convene the general assembly.
- Keeping the accounting records of the Center Union on the basis of the balance sheet and presenting the estimated budget, final accounts, transfer proposals, monthly balance sheets and their reports.
- To assign personnel to the Center Union as well as to terminate their duties.
- To represent the Center Union in and out of the country.
- When necessary, to convene the general assembly for extraordinary meetings.
- To undertake the purchase and sales of the union's movable and immovable properties, to manage and protect the properties of the Center Union within the framework of the authority granted by the general assembly.
- To follow the market prices related to the product or product groups within the activity area of the Center Union, to conduct market research and to have such research conducted.
- To cooperate with the persons, institutions or organizations necessary to improve the quality of the products or product groups.
- To organize informative meetings and training activities for the members of the Center Union.
- To perform other duties assigned by the General Assembly.
- To find suitable markets for the products of the unions who are members of the Center union, to act as an intermediary for the delivery for the production of the unions to the markets, to draft contracts, to follow up on the necessary procedures, to serve as an intermediary for the input supply of the unions which are a members of the center union
SUPERVISORY BOARD, ITS DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES
Article 19-The supervisory board shall consist of three principal members elected from among the board members.
In addition, the same number of alternate members is elected.
Duties and Authorities of the Supervisory Board:
- To examine the balance sheet and books of the Center Union,
- To submit the audit report on the activities of the Center Union Board of Directors to the approval of the general assembly,
- To convene the General Assembly extraordinary meeting when deemed necessary.
CHAPTER FIVE
PENAL PROVISIONS
Article 20-Members and personnel who are among bodies committing a crime against the funds and other money-equivalent documents, bills and other commodities of Center Union and making changes in the nature the balance sheets, reports and any other kind of papers or books by way of crime, or deliberately destroying such documents shall pay penalties as in the case of State officials.
CHAPTER SIX
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
AMENDMENT TO THE CHARTER
Article 21-General Assembly * shall convene with the participation of two thirds of the members entitled to attend the general assembly in the amendments to the charter. If the meeting is postponed due to the failure to meet the majority, no majority will be sought in the second meeting. Decisions on the amendment to the charter shall be taken by a majority of two thirds in the meeting.
TERIMATION - LIQUIDATION
Article 22-Center Union Board of Directors may decide to terminate the union at any time. At least 2/3of the members who are entitled to participate in the general assembly meeting shall be required to attend the meeting in order to be able to decide on the termination. If majority is not achieved in the first meeting, majority condition is not sought in the second meeting. However, decisions on the termination shall be taken by the majority of 2/3 of the members who are present. No majority shall be sought in the second meeting. The termination of the Center Union shall be notified in writing to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock within 7 days by the board of directors. After the Center Union has been terminated, all other funds and commodities of the Union shall be transferred to another charter or foundation having similar purposes.
AUDIT
Article 23- Financial audits of unions and center unions shall be performed by the sworn-in consultants or independent auditors before the general assembly meeting. Audit results are distributed to the members before the general assembly. Determination of auditing bodies and principles and procedures for the audit shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation on the Supervision of Agricultural Producer Unions and Agricultural Producer Center Unions, prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and published in the Official Gazette dated 25.09.2005 and numbered 25947 pursuant to Article 18 of the Agricultural Producers Law numbered 5200.