Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007, as amended by Regulation (EC) No 13/2009 of 18 December 2008.

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1 Title of Scheme School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme Legal basis Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007, as amended by Regulation (EC) No 13/2009 of 18 December Commission Regulation (EC) No 288/2009 of 7 April Body responsible for implementing the scheme The Department of Agriculture at the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment is the competent authority for preparing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating the scheme. The Department of Agriculture is also responsible for implementing some of the accompanying measures. The Ministry of Education and Culture is responsible for choosing the target group of pupils taking part in the scheme. The Ministry of Health is responsible for implementing some of the measures accompanying the scheme (supplying the necessary educational material) and the Cyprus Agricultural Payment Organisation is responsible for granting the aid to the beneficiaries as well as for monitoring checking and for enforcing sanctions. Features of Scheme Brief description A healthy diet is an integral part of our health and plays a vital role in reducing obesity and lowering the risk of suffering from serious conditions, such as heart disease and Type II diabetes. Studies show that good nutritional habits are created in childhood and consequently people who eat fruit and vegetables during childhood continue to them when they become adults too. With rates of childhood obesity rising rapidly and the amount of fruit and vegetables children eat going down, the need to readjust young consumers eating habits is now considered necessary. For these reasons the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets (Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007) provides for Community aid to be granted for the implementation of a co-financed School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme for children attending established educational institutions. The overarching objective of the School Fruit Scheme is to tackle child obesity and raise the consumption of fruit and vegetables. Areas of application

2 In its third year the Scheme will be applied in all public and private primary schools and nurseries in the Republic of Cyprus (the private schools which have registered) in which there are approximately pupils in 610 primary schools and nurseries. Application period The current scheme covers the academic year. For the following years the scheme will be reviewed based on the results and experience gained and the funding sources available. Purpose of Scheme The purpose of the scheme is as follows: 1. to encourage children to eat more fruit and vegetables; 2. to fight child obesity; 3. to introduce to children good eating habits at an early age. Aims of Scheme: By implementing the scheme we expect to achieve the following: The decreasing consumption of fruit and vegetables will be reversed by encouraging children and, by extension, adults to eat more fruit. By encouraging children to eat more fruit, the proportion of fruit and vegetables in children's diets will steadily increase to the point where their eating habits will change. By consuming more fruit and vegetables, children's eating habits will improve and as a consequence the rates of child obesity will decrease. The aims of the Common Agricultural Policy will also be met by increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, including boosting income in the agricultural sector, stabilising markets and safeguarding current and future supplies. Beneficiaries Criteria for participation The beneficiaries of the scheme are private companies, which, through the tendering procedure ranging from production to delivery, will supply fruit, vegetables and bananas to children in educational institutions as part of the School Fruit Scheme. Beneficiaries will also include private companies responsible for communication expenditure, which must at least include expenditure for the poster as laid down in Article 14(1) of Regulation (EC) No 288/2009. Private bodies carrying out monitoring and evaluation, as referred to in Article 12, directly linked to the School Fruit Scheme are also beneficiaries. 2

3 Eligible measures The scheme's eligible measures are as follows: 1. Purchase of the following fruit and vegetables once a week and their distribution to the schools participating in the scheme: Mandarins Grapes Apples Pears Bananas Carrots Small cucumbers The products will be washed and individually packaged and ready to eat. Quantities per type, size and variety of the above products will be set out in the terms of the contract. 2. Related costs, i.e. costs that are directly linked to the implementation of a School Fruit Scheme and include: costs for monitoring and evaluation referred to in Article 12, directly linked to the School Fruit Scheme; communication costs which include costs for the poster referred to in Article 14(1) of Regulation (EC) No 288/2009 and the creation of a website for the Scheme. Amount of aid The maximum aid for the academic year is , of which will be from Community aid and of which will be from Republic of Cyprus resources. Award procedure Aid will be granted once the applications and necessary documentary evidence have been submitted and once the necessary checks are carried out by the competent authority. The application for aid specifically for fruit and vegetable supply will have to include the amounts which were distributed in total and also per primary school including the number of children attending each primary school. 3

4 In addition to the aid application, applicants will undertake the following commitments in writing vis-á-vis competent authority: a) to use the products financed by the School Fruit Scheme for the consumption by children attending the educational institution(s) which are requesting aid; b) to repay any aid unduly paid for the quantities concerned, if it has been found that these products have not been distributed to the children referred to or have been paid for products that are not eligible under this Regulation; c) in the event of fraud or serious negligence, to pay an amount equal to the difference between the amount initially paid and the amount to which the applicant is entitled; d) to make available to the competent authorities all the documentary evidence requested; e) to submit to any check decided on by the competent authority, in particular the scrutiny of records and physical inspection. Further details on the implementation of the Scheme and all necessary application forms will be included in an information leaflet. Accompanying measures During the academic year the following accompanying measures for the scheme will be implemented, with an estimated cost of (not financed by the EU) in the interest of more effective implementation: a) Preparation and distribution of information material on fruit and vegetables. b) Events to mark the start and end of the scheme during the academic year. c) Lessons in tasting fruit and vegetables and a competition to create the most original recipe using fruit and vegetables. d) School vegetable gardens and composting fruit and vegetable waste. e) Theatrical performances. f) The Ministry of Health will prepare and send information material to all pupils of primary schools taking part in the Scheme in order to raise their awareness of healthy eating habits. Controls and Sanctions 4

5 The Cyprus Agricultural Payments Organisation will control the implementation of the scheme and enforce sanctions where Community Regulations are not complied with. The above controls and sanctions will be applied under Articles 13 and 16(3) of Regulation (EC) No 288/2009. Monitoring and Evaluation The Department of Agriculture in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Ministry of Health will monitor and evaluate the School Fruit Scheme on an annual basis, in accordance with Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 288/