The Agricultural Produce Commission exists to encourage and facilitate the self-funding of producers’ initiatives through the establishment of Producers’ Committees who deliver quality services to producers for the development, security and growth of their industry.

 

The Agricultural Produce Commission supports producers to establish Producers’ Committees that enable the provision of services to producers.

The Agricultural Produce Commission Act 1988 provides Western Australian agricultural producers with the ability to establish their own Producers’ Committee to self-fund and direct their industry to further the growth, prosperity and security of producers. Once established, the Producers’ Committee determines the services to be provided to their producers, and recommends a statutory fee-for-service to be recovered to fund those services. This means that Producers’ Committees are established by industry, for industry and remain industry-led and for the benefit of their own industry - always.

The Commission supports the Producers’ Committees by providing specialist governance oversight, financial management and guidance to all established APC Committees, encouraging them to work with their producers to identify initiatives and provide a true value service to growers and their industries.

Who can establish an APC Producers’ Committee?

APC producers' committees can be established for horticultural and other agricultural industries as prescribed - other than livestock enterprises generally conducted on land under a pastoral lease. Horticultural industries can include; wine, fruit, vegetables, juices, nuts, turf and flowers. The Act provides the ability for an agricultural industry to be prescribed - and thereby able to establish APC producers’ committees.  In this way producers' committee have also been established for the pork and beekeeping industries.

What services can Producers’ Committees perform?

The range of services that a Producers’ Committee can perform for its producers is defined by the producers at the time of establishing their committee. Producers can authorise their committees to deliver any or all of the following functions:

  • Establishing compensation schemes

  • Assisting in developing systems for quality control or pest and disease control

  • Establishing inspection systems for grading, packaging and storage of agricultural produce

  • Formulating schemes for helping producers gain accreditation

  • Establishing voluntary crop insurance schemes

  • Providing/developing educational programs

  • Undertaking research

  • Developing and expanding new markets

  • Undertaking market forecasting

The committee must be representative of all producers –if you are a Fee for Service paying producer then you have a say in what your Committee does. The committee brings all producers together to work towards a unified healthy industry which ultimately provides a sustainable living for producers. Be involved and contact your committee chair if you feel there is something that needs to be done, if you have an idea that you believe can make a difference or if you would like to take the opportunity to become involved.

How does an APC Producers’ Committee operate?

Committees take a leadership view of their industries and take their role very seriously. Each year they assess the needs of the industry and estimate the annual costs for providing identified services to producers. This cost is translated into a "Fee for Service" charge which all WA producers of that produce pay. The services that can be provided by an APC committee are listed under Section 12.1 of the Act and producers vote for the provision of some or all of the services at the committee establishment poll. The setting of a Fee for Service charge must be approved by the Minister for Agriculture and Food.

The collection of Fee for Service is often through dealers, such as; market agents, wholesalers, exporters or retailers, although other collection methods that are more appropriate to particular industry sectors may be considered. When approved by the Minister, the Fee for Service charge is compulsory, except where a committee has been established with the option for the ability to ‘opt-out’ exercised within the regulations for that particular industry.

The funds of each committee are independently accounted for, and funds raised by a committee are solely for the activities of that committee.

What is the role of the Commission?

The role of the Commission is to:

  • establish producers’ committees with responsibility for agricultural produce;

  • allocate responsibility for agricultural produce to existing producers’ committees;

  • remove responsibility for agricultural produce from existing producers’ committees;

  • appoint members to producers’ committees;

  • advertise for the formation of producers’ committees;

  • conduct polls under this Act;

  • wind up the affairs of producers’ committees and appoint liquidators for that purpose;

  • dissolve producers’ committees;

  • provide such services in relation to the functioning of producers’ committees as are necessary from time to time;

  • provide, as are necessary from time to time, persons to assist producers’ committees in carrying out their functions under this Act;

  • direct, coordinate and supervise the functioning and expenditure of producers’ committees; and

  • provide such other services to producers’ committees as the Minister may direct.