14. 7. 92 Official Journal of the European Communities COMMISSION REGULATION (EEC) No 1920/92 of 10 July 1992 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3763/91 with regard to granting aid for rice production in French Guiana THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3763/91 of 16 December 1991 introducing specific measures in respect of certain agricultural products for the benefit of the French overseas departments ('), and in particular Article 3 (5) thereof, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1676/85 of 11 June 1985 on the value of the unit of account and the conversion rates to be applied for the purposes of the common agricultural policy (%), as last amended by Regu- lation (EEC) No 2205/90 (), and in particular Article § thereof, Whereas Article 3 (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 3763/91 introduces a flat-rate aid per hectare for rice production in French Guiana during the marketing years 1991-92 to 1995-96 ; whereas it also lays down that the amount of the aid is to be fixed with particular reference to soil preparation costs ; Whereas, in order to meet the objective of developing rice growing in French Guiana, the aid must be paid in respect of areas sown and harvested; whereas in this connection it is reasonable to assume that any sown areas for which the normal cultivation work has been carried out will be harvested ; Whereas rice growing in the overseas department in ques- tion is conditional on substantial soil prepartion and improvement work being carried out beforehand, in parti- cular as regards removal of peat and excess soil ; whereas the scale of this work depends on natural conditions and the topography of the Guianese coastal region ; whereas, pursuant to the aforementioned provision of Regulation (EEC) No 3763/91, the areas to be sown to rice should be classified on the basis of the scale of the work to be carried out and the amount of the production aid should vary in line with that classification ; Whereas the amount of the aid should be calculated on the basis of the actual costs of reclaiming the areas deter- () OJ No L 356, 24. 12. 1991, p. 1. %) OJ No L 164, 24. 6. 1985, p. 1. () OJ No L 201, 31. 7. 1990, p. 9. mined under the programme to be drawn up at regional level ; whereas, consequently, the competent French authorities should be authorized to make the payment of the aid as and when the land is reclaimed; Whereas the configuration of the areas to be put to rice, particularly the homogeneity and continuity of the plots, and the small number of holdings, make it possible to envisage inspection by the competent authorities of all the reclaimed areas ; ' Whereas provision should be made, on the one hand, for measures to discourage inaccurate declarations and, on the other, for eligibility to the aid to be maintained in cases of force majeure or natural disaster ; Whereas the time when the economic objective of the measure is realised is the operative event for the agricul- tural conversion rate ; whereas the objective in question is attained at the time of harvest ; whereas, however, in view of the difficulty of determining the date of the harvest in each case, the date to be considered as the representative date for the harvest should be the first day of the marke- ting year preceding the declaration which constitutes the aid application ; Whereas, in view of the date of entry into force of Regula- tion (EEC) No 3763/91, this Regulation should apply with effect from 1 January 1992; Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Rice, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION : Article 1 Flat-rate aid per hectare for rice production in French Guiana, as provided for in Article 3 (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 3763/91, shall be granted in accordance with this Regulation. Article 2 The aid shall be granted per hectare of land sown and harvested. Land shall be considered as such if normal field work has been carried out on it with a view to production and the rice grown on it reached the ripening stage. :