Argentina: Government encourages the production of food with certified quality
In order to boost the production of food with certified quality and facilitate companies to generate added value, the Ministry of Agroindustry of Argentina has launched the National Program for Promotion of Official Certificates of Quality in Argentine Food “Add Value”. An initiative designed to encourage micro, small and medium enterprises producing and/or producing food and/or beverages, with funding reaching up to 200,000 pesos.
As explained by the Secretary of Value Added, Néstor Roulet, “the objective of this program is to enhance the opportunities of SMEs to add value and contribute to the improvement of their competitive conditions, offering new productive and commercial alternatives.”
The so-called “Official Certificates of Quality” are those that distinguish organic products, geographical indications and designations of origin, the seal of quality “Argentine Food, a Natural Choice” and other food certifications, granted under the Resolution No. 280/01 of the National Service of Health and Agro-Food Quality (SENASA).
The National Program “Add Value” seeks to promote companies that are located in the interior of the country and contribute to the socio-economic dynamization of their regions, with a view to increasing the supply and marketing of differentiated agri-foods and/or value added.
This initiative seeks to promote the viability and development of SMEs in the agri-food sector, promoting investments in local economies, and improving their positioning and consolidation in the domestic and foreign markets
The implementing authority of the Program is the Secretariat of Value Added, which should be addressed to those who request to join. The beneficiary companies must register as such before the Undersecretariat of Food and Beverages, dependent on the aforementioned Secretariat.
Applicant companies must comply with the provisions of the Registration Form attached to the Resolution creating the Program, and all information presented will be sworn in character.
Incentives to “Add Value”
The Program offers its beneficiaries an economic aid which, in the case of companies producing and/or producing “Food and/or Beverages with the potential to have an Official Quality Certificate”, consists of a refund equivalent to 80% of the total amount of the expenses with a maximum of up to 180,000 pesos. They must attend to the concepts of implementation, technical assistance and small improvements in infrastructure, to achieve certification and or audit related to the applicable Official Certificate, as well as certification and/or audit costs related to said Certificate.
In the case of companies in the sector with an Official Quality Certificate, the reimbursement can reach up to 70% of the total amount of the expenses of first renewal of certification and or audit related to the applicable Official Certificate and, as the case may be, expenses for technical assistance and improvements that are necessary to achieve the renewal of said certification, with a limit of 140,000 pesos.
Likewise, a maximum return of 200,000 pesos is contemplated, for expenses incurred in promotion and commercial assistance, product dissemination, development of strategic and business plans, implementation of business management tools, corporate image optimization, web design, e-commerce, social media, implementation of quality management systems, environmental management systems and corporate social responsibility, adoption of technology to modernize processes and systems of industrial processes, acquisition of machinery needed to modernize productive infrastructure, and so on.
The interested companies can submit the applications until April 30 of each year. For more information, please contact: alimentosybebidas@magyp.gob.ar.
Source: Ministry of Agroindustry of Argentina
