2.—(1) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 shall apply to these regulations as it applies to an Act of the assembly.
(2) In these Regulations—
“agreement” means the agreement under regulation 3(1)(d).
“agriculture” includes horticultural, fruit growing, seed growing, dairy farming, livestock breeding or keeping, use of land as grazing land, meadow land, weed beds, market gardens and nursery grounds and the maintaining of land in good agricultural and environmental conditions as provided for in Article 5 of Council Regulation (EC) 1782/2003(1).
“assistance” means the payments of support under the agri-environment measures falling with Axis 2 under Section 2 of Chapter 1 of Title IV of the Council Regulation which are provided for the Rural Development Programme and which are payable in accordance with the Community Legislation;
“beneficiary” means—
a person who has for the purposes of regulation 3(1)(c) been granted a Certificate of Registration by an Inspection Authority and entered into an agreement with the Department, or
in relation to any time after grant has been paid in pursuance of the agreement, the person to whom the grant has been paid.
“Certificate of Registration” means a Certificate issued to a person by an Inspection Authority in respect of an organic parcel when it is or is to be the subject of a conversion plan and which specifies the conversion period which applies in relation to that organic parcel or the date on which that conversion period begins;
“claim” means claim for grant made under and in accordance with Regulation 5;
“the Community legislation” means the instruments listed in the Schedule;
“the Compendium of Organic Standards” means the Compendium of Organic Standards published by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in September 2006;
“conversion” means the conversion of land to organic farming methods;
“conversion period” means the period of time with respect to a parcel of land beginning with its first registration with an Inspection Authority and ending with its certification as fully organic land by that body;
“conversion plan” in relation to any land means the written schedule of agricultural activity designed to achieve the conversion of the land;
“the Council Regulation” means Council Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 of 24 June 1991 on organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs(2);
“the Department” means the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development;
“farmer” means an individual or group of legal or natural persons that undertakes agricultural activity;
“grant” means a grant of payments under regulation 3(1);
“holding” means all land in the United Kingdom owned or occupied by a single farmer;
“Inspection Authority” means a body approved in accordance with Article 9 of the Council Regulation;
“land” means land used for agriculture;
“organic parcel” means an area of land which comprises the whole or part of any holding and which is identified by an inspection authority as organic land and entering into conversion at the one time;
“organic unit” means one or more organic parcel comprising the whole or part of any holding and which is or are managed or are intended to be managed in the future as a unit;
“Rural Development Programme” means the Northern Ireland Rural Development Programme submitted by the United Kingdom to the European Commission in accordance with Article 18 of the Council Regulation on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and approved by the Commission on 24 July 2007.
O.J. L 270, 21.10.2003, p. 1–69
O.J. L 198, 22.7.1991, p. 1-15