Challenge to 'inconsistent suitability' rating in a strawberry project and admissibility of appeal before the Agrarian TribunalImpugnación de calificación de idoneidad inconsistente en proyecto de fresa y procedencia del recurso de apelación ante el Tribunal Agrario

**V.- On the admissibility of the appeal (recurso de apelación).-** First of all, this Court must necessarily address the admissibility of the present appeal (recurso de apelación), this case being different from those previously resolved. The foregoing is stated because, in some prior votes, the Court declared the motions for reconsideration (recursos de reposición) were wrongly admitted. For this reason, it is necessary to refer, at this point, to at least three admissibility criteria: a) in some qualification processes, in which the 2010 regulation was applied (see, among others, votes No. 1135-F-15 to 1138-F-15). The reasoning was as follows: "II.- From the analysis of the case files, this Court concludes that the appeals filed and sent by the Legal Advisory Office of the Instituto de Desarrollo Rural have been wrongly admitted before this Court for the following reasons: 1.- The agreement of the Board of Directors (Junta Directiva) of the INDER was based on the provisions of articles 14, 16, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, and 33 of the 'Reglamento para la Selección y Asignación de Solicitantes de Tierras.' This Regulation corresponds to the one published in La Gaceta, No. 116 of June 16, 2010, in which the following was established regarding the system of challenges (impugnaciones):

Article 27.—The General Secretariat (Secretaría General) shall communicate the agreements approving the reports to the Subregional Office (Oficina Subregional), with a copy to the Family Selection Area (Área de Selección de Familias), the Regional Directorate (Dirección Regional), and the Deeding and Notary Area (Área de Escrituración y Notariado). The Subregional Office shall be responsible for notifying each interested family in writing, at the place indicated for this purpose, of the decision made by the Board of Directors, within a period not exceeding fifteen business days from the moment the Subregional Office receives the agreement, which must be recorded in the settlement (asentamiento) file.

Article 28.—Against the agreement of the Board of Directors that denies the eligibility status, a motion for reversal (recurso de revocatoria) shall be admissible, indicating the factual and legal grounds on which the disagreement is based, in accordance with the provisions of subsection 2 of article 344 of the Ley General de la Administración Pública, which must be filed within a period of ten business days counted from the day following the notification of the Board of Directors' agreement. The motion must be filed with the respective Subregional Office or Regional Directorate, which will be obligated to prepare a technical-legal report, prior to being submitted for the Board of Directors' consideration, within a period of fifteen business days, attaching a copy of the notification of the Board of Directors' agreement. They must also send a copy to the Family Selection Area.

Article 29.—Against the agreement of the Board of Directors that denies the motion for reversal filed, a motion for review (recurso de revisión) shall be admissible when the circumstances of articles 353 and 354 of the Ley General de la Administración Pública concur. Said motion must be filed with the respective Subregional Office or Regional Directorate, which will be obligated to prepare a technical-legal report, prior to being submitted for the Board of Directors' consideration, within a period of fifteen business days, attaching a copy of the notification of the Board of Directors' agreement. They must also send a copy to the Family Selection Area." From the foregoing, it is clearly evident that this Agrarian Court lacks functional jurisdiction (competencia funcional) to hear the filed appeals, which is why the appeal must be declared wrongly admitted. Furthermore, it is noted that it is the INDER's own Legal Advisory Office that misleads the interested persons by indicating a challenge procedure contrary to the provisions of the regulation applied by the Board of Directors of the Instituto de Desarrollo Rural. This is because these persons are being told that, pursuant to article 35 of the new Regulation of the INDER Law, they may file an appeal (recurso de apelación), which causes great legal insecurity and uncertainty to the detriment of the administered party."; b) On the other hand, the Agrarian Court, in another proceeding originating from the Institute, regarding the qualification of a precarious occupation (ocupación precaria) conflict, through Vote No. 71-F-16 (File EXPN1), also declared the appeal wrongly admitted, considering the following: "IV.- The appeal (recurso de apelación) filed before this Court is wrongly admitted for the following reasons: a) The Law of the Instituto de Desarrollo Rural, in its article 80, among other things, kept in force the Ley de Tierras y Colonización No. 2825 and 'Expressly, Chapter VI of Law No. 2825, Regulación de Conflictos entre Propietarios y Poseedores en Precario, and its related regulations, shall remain in force in all its aspects.' The referred chapter does not contain any rule granting an appeal against the decisions of the Board of Directors in cases of precarious occupation conflicts. On the contrary, the same Law establishes that the decision of the INDER exhausts the administrative channel (vía administrativa) and the parties may resort to the corresponding judicial channel (articles 94 and 95). Note that the challenged resolution expressly provides in its point 4): 'Declare the administrative channel exhausted so that the parties, if they wish, may ventilate their eventual rights in other instances.' Thus, the procedure ends there, without prejudice to the motion for reversal (recurso de revocatoria) filed by the interested party, which was not heard by the referring body. b) Secondly, the provision contained in article 69 of the Ley de Tierras y Colonización is not an 'open' appeal for all matters resolved by the Instituto de Desarrollo Rural, but rather refers to '...the administrative procedures for reversal of assignment (revocatoria de asignación) and nullity of property titles, other modalities of land assignment, as well as those linked to rural development...' In this case, we are facing a special proceeding for precarious occupation conflict, regulated in the Ley de Tierras y Colonización, and in which an appeal before the Agrarian Court is not provided for, which grants an exhaustive challenge instrument (see article 177 of the Ley de Tierras y Colonización), especially since, from a constitutional standpoint, the same body exhausts the administrative channel, that being the Instituto de Desarrollo Rural." c).- Regarding the appeal (recurso de apelación) filed due to the application of Title I, Chapter IV (Fondo de tierras y de desarrollo rural), Section V (Modelo de asignación de tierras), regarding the selection or assignment of beneficiaries, the existence of specific rules that accommodate the appeal in the Law must be considered, when such rules are applied in accordance with the new Regulation No. 38.975-MAG, which is currently in force. Indeed, article 58 of the INDER Law provides: 'The respective assignments shall be subject to the existence of technical studies that guarantee the suitability of the applicants, the carrying capacity (cabida) of the lands, the productive project of the enterprise or community service, and its impact on rural development.' Furthermore, the Law adds regarding access conditions: 'The Inder shall provide lands under lease (arrendamiento) modality, as a priority form, on its own properties, for the development of productive or service projects with community impact in rural territories, on an individual or collective basis, whether to natural or legal persons.' Later it provides: 'The conditions under which families will be provided with housing lots will be established in a specific regulation that will determine the suitability of the families under adequate regulations for rural conditions.' Now, article 69 of the Law admits the appeal (recurso de apelación) before the Agrarian Court in the following administrative procedures: a) reversal of assignment and nullity of property titles; b) in other modalities of land assignment (understood as individual or collective assignment, individual or collective lease); c) resolutions linked to rural development. It must be the final resolution of the INDER's Board of Directors.

All the previous provisions are related to the provisions of Regulation No. 38975-MAG, whose Title II, Chapter II establishes the 'General Procedures for the selection of beneficiary persons,' with article 35 expressly establishing that '...Applicant persons may appeal the decision of the Board of Directors before the Agrarian Court within a maximum period of five business days after its notification, which may be filed in any office of the Institute, within the mentioned period...' Therefore, in this particular case, it is evident that the final resolution of the INDER is being challenged, as it determines the unsuitability, by application of the technical criterion of 'inconsistent suitability (idoneidad inconsistente),' of the appellants herein, excluding them from the productive project intended to be developed. Hence, the appeal is admissible and is correctly admitted in this particular case.

VI.- The role of the Instituto de Desarrollo Rural in territorial rural development processes. The Estrategia Centroamericana de Desarrollo Rural Territorial (ECADERT) promoted by the Consejo Agropecuario Centroamericano by virtue of the mandate of the Meeting of Presidents (XXXIII) of December 5, 2008, constituting for this purpose an Intergovernmental Working Group. This is a legal agreement of the two main political decision-making bodies with normative authority of the Sistema de Integración Centroamericana. The Strategy is based on a participatory and dynamic design, involving organized Civil Society and the different political actors. It seeks to rebuild a national model, making rural development policy a State policy, which also corresponds to "a shared vision" at the regional level. The ECADERT makes an analysis of the main trends in regional dynamics, emphasizing existing disparities, transformations of the Rural Environment, Central American Rural Development experiences, and then proceeds to a conceptualization of the Strategy, based on the following pillars:

I.- Institutions for Territorial Rural Development: social management of policies II.- Strengthening of the Rural Economy of the Territories III.- Rural Society and Territorial Identity: cooperation networks in social inclusion IV.- Nature and Territories: access and management of environmental resources.

The legal framework must be the basis for the implementation of any Strategy, and especially through the use of the community regulation instrument, according to the competencies assigned to the Consejo Agropecuario Centroamericano in articles 45 and 55 of the Guatemala Protocol. The Council of Ministers, acting sectorally, or intersectorally with other Ministries, is empowered to issue derived normative acts, namely, resolutions and regulations, through which it establishes the bases of that common regional agricultural policy. The recent efforts of the Consejo Agropecuario Centroamericano -CAC-, in designing the PACA, or Central American agricultural policy ([Telf1]), as well as the developed Strategies, must necessarily be accompanied by normative legal instruments that allow facing the challenges derived from food security, climate change, and agro-environmental, agri-food, and rural development sustainability. Precisely, in order to respond to that transformation towards territorial and integral rural development, Law No. 9036, enacted on May 11, 2012, called "Ley de Transformación del Instituto de Desarrollo Agrario (IDA) en Instituto de Desarrollo Rural (INDER)" is published. It aims to establish territorial rural development as a State policy, under the responsibility of the Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería, as the governing body of the national agricultural sector, and its execution is entrusted to the Institute (article 1). It incorporates in its definitions the productive agricultural activities (agriculture, livestock, forestry, aquaculture, fishing, and mariculture) and the criterion of multifunctionality, including the constitutional principles of promotion of production, equitable distribution of wealth, solidarity, and social justice (article 3). Title II sets out the institutional transformation of the IDA into INDER, establishing its patrimonial and financial regime (articles 14 to 37), but also includes substantive norms for the creation of a Land Fund (Fondo de Tierras), the provision systems, through lease or assignment, individual and collective, based on productive or service projects for territorial rural development (articles 38 to 72). Likewise, a Rural Development Fund (Fondo de Desarrollo rural) is created, regulating the institution of rural credit (articles 73-77). Its final and transitory provisions establish the validation and regularization of the adjudicated agrarian property regime. Finally, the competence for agrarian conflicts is granted to the Agrarian Jurisdiction, or to the administrative litigation jurisdiction when appropriate.

VII.- On the qualification criteria set forth in the Law and its regulation.- Article 69 of the Law of the Instituto de Desarrollo Rural provides that the appeal must be resolved in accordance with the principles of equity, rational use, social justice, and solidarity provided for in articles 69 and 74 of the Political Constitution. It is undoubtedly a matter of adding said principles-values to the objective parameters set by the same legal system, to guarantee the development of the principle of the social function of property, in particular the "access" to agrarian property (whether through assignment or lease), to all those persons who, having adequate technical capacity (experience in agriculture), habitualness, and continuity in the development of agricultural work, nevertheless lack the appropriate means of production for their sustainable rural development. The Law in its general part (Title I, on territorial rural development), establishes some definitions and elements that are necessary for the Court to consider. Indeed, article 3 defines rural family economies as: "Economic units or enterprises that function in a self-managed way by the family, with or without access to land and to the rural area in general. They behave as family enterprises since the family constitutes the labor reserve and, at the same time, a consumption unit. Due to the possibility of satisfying consumption needs with their own production, they combine subsistence and market production... This definition includes micro-producers." This definition is extremely important because it involves the theoretical concepts of family "enterprise" and "micro-producers," one of its essential characteristics being habitualness and continuity in the exercise of agrarian work (knowledge of good agricultural technique), for their own and their family's sustenance, or for a market projection. Definition that, without a doubt, is also associated with the provisions of subsection ñ) of the same article 3 that defines small and medium rural agricultural producers, using the qualifier of economic units of an entrepreneurial nature. Hence, the INDER, for the fulfillment of the social function of property (principle contained in article 4 of the Law), must also create spaces for participation and human development, through the identification of human talents, or through the generation of capacities to allow the adequate development of productive processes that permit integral rural development. For its part, the regulation in its Title II, Chapter II sets forth the "General Procedures for the selection of beneficiary persons," referring to the provisions of article 2 in relation to article 46, subsection c) of Law 9036, with which the concepts of micro-entrepreneur and small producer were already mentioned, which must be determined under technical criteria, also considering that there must exist, in accordance with subsection d) of article 46, a "Commitment to keep the land in use and exploit it personally, in accordance with projects that justified the assignment. The lessee or assignee shall be understood as the person who demonstrates experience in productive projects, has no land or possesses it insufficiently, and assumes the commitment to keep the land in use." And the regulation, in article 28, reiterates and expands the subjective qualifications as follows: a) Micro producer: Develops or plans to develop a productive activity for self-consumption and sale of surpluses sporadically or continuously in the market, applies or not minimal transformation to the generated product. Has only family labor available; furthermore, the monthly gross income generated by the family nucleus shall not exceed the equivalent of three minimum wages of an unskilled worker. b) Small producer: Develops or plans to develop a productive activity constantly. Commercializes most of the production, with or without transformation, to the national market. Has increasing market participation. Uses family labor but hires labor for specific activities; furthermore, the monthly gross income generated shall not exceed the equivalent of five minimum wages of an unskilled worker." To apply for suitability (idoneidad), the Inder conducts a broad technical study, whose terms and requirements are contemplated in articles 29 to 34, with the responsible technician needing to make the inquiries deemed necessary to verify the information provided by the interested parties. Hence, the so-called "SUITABILITY RESOLUTORY REPORT" applicable to natural persons, contemplates the Territory, the Project, the applicant's economic and rootedness analysis, the social and technical analysis, and a recommendation regarding the qualification of their "suitability (idoneidad)", which is based on the ranges established in article 31 of the Regulation, in strict order of priority (from highest to lowest), according to the following scale: Highly suitable (90 to 100), Moderate suitability (80 to 89), Low suitability (60 to 79), and Inconsistent suitability (0 to 59), with highly suitable and moderately suitable persons having preference in their designation, but even those considered to have low suitability may have possibilities, because in such case, article 32 indicates that "..must be provided with the technical support and training required by the project sponsors in order to contribute to the process of generating human capacities... so as to allow them to develop the project effectively and efficiently." VIII.- The territorial rural development policy, as a State policy.- The Inder Law, in Chapter II, establishes the territorial rural development policy as a public policy, that is, as a State policy (articles 5 to 8). To make this policy effective, the Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería, through the Secretaria Ejecutiva de Planificación del Sector Agropecuario (including the agri-food sector) and the Instituto de Desarrollo Rural, launched the "Política de Estado para el Desarrollo Rural Territorial Costarricense (PEDRT)" [Telf2] of September 2015. It has as its vision the creation of integrated rural territories that allow improving the population's standard of living in the development processes, and as objectives to promote inclusive development in the rural territories of the most needy people, generating training processes and opportunities, in order to reduce social inequality and inequity. As relevant to this specific case, and in line with what was indicated in the previous consideration (considerando), "...It is conceptualized as the target population or recipients of the goods and services of the plans, programs, and projects derived from the policy, natural and legal persons, integrated into the territorial rural development processes, according to the following description: 1. Natural persons: The following types are included: producers; micro, small, and medium enterprise producers; and natural persons who do not generate income. They are characterized as follows:  Producers: They are at the head of the so-called rural family economies. They are economic units that function in a self-managed way by the family, with or without access to land in the rural area. They behave as family ventures since the family constitutes the labor reserve and, at the same time, is a consumption unit. Due to the possibility of satisfying consumption needs with their own production, they combine subsistence and market production.  Producers (micro, small, and medium): Persons who develop economic units of an entrepreneurial nature, in which family participation is not definitive. Most of their production is intended for the market and they regularly use hired labor.  Natural persons who do not generate income. These are persons who do not have a specific income-generating activity or have unrecognized income (e.g., homemakers, students, unemployed persons, among others).  Persons with disabilities, older adults, women, youth, ethnic groups, original peoples. Persons who have traditionally been made invisible and excluded from access to State goods and services. 2. Legal persons: Organizations of different natures from the rural environment, among them:

 Organizations dedicated to productive activities in the rural environment, which have legal status (personería jurídica).  Organizations dedicated to diverse activities, integrated by persons with disabilities, older adults, women, youth, governments of original peoples, and ethnic groups that have legal status.  Organizations constituted by persons graduated from technical-professional high schools and university graduates who have valid legal status.  Micro, small, and medium enterprise, economic units of an entrepreneurial nature, most of their production is intended for the market and they regularly use hired labor.  Community Organizations with legal status that have the purpose of promoting the integral development of their surroundings and improving the living conditions of their community.  Local governments: These consist of the municipalities, with cantonal coverage, and the District Councils, when appropriate. They have political, economic, and administrative autonomy in matters of their competence.  Public institutions, with which agreements and strategic alliances are signed. Within the framework of the Policy, the articulation of the public sector with the private sector is considered strategic to contribute to income generation through the execution of production initiatives in the territories..." On the other hand, for the realization of this policy, the creation of Rural Territories is taken into consideration, and it starts from an entire strategic planning process, ranging from the local level (local and municipal councils), to the territorial level (territorial rural development plans approved by the Territorial Councils), then to the Regional level (regional rural development plans and Regional Councils) to finalize its implementation at the National level. Within this entire planning process, as stated, it is the local and territorial councils that propose, among other things, the implementation of works or productive projects that may be useful for the rural community, and for whose execution, logically, an entire selective process must be carried out to analyze the technical and legal requirements demanded by the Law and its regulation, in order to determine who the most suitable persons would be - technical criterion - and, why not, the most needy - equity criterion - but with knowledge and productive capacity.

IX.- Analysis of the specific case.- Within the context described above, and supported by a territorial rural development policy, the INDER initiates the "suitability (idoneidad)" studies conducted on different natural persons, to integrate the Grupo de Productores de Fresa Vara Blanca, called MIGVARAB-Gamaliel, for the development of the Productive Project called: "Producción de Fresas en Ambiente Protegido" of the territory Santa Bárbara, Barva, San Isidro, San Rafael Vara Blanca, and which is approved by the Directorate of Development. In the particular case, the Court has considered the responses provided by the interested parties regarding prior knowledge and experience, technical knowledge of protected environments (greenhouses), training, and knowledge of the project; however, it is apparent that for several years both applicants have been disconnected from this type of activity and have dedicated themselves to other work (dairy farming and hospitality). That is, they have not had continuity or habitualness in strawberry cultivation. The final report concludes that they lack a track record and lack knowledge and capacities related to strawberry cultivation in a protected environment. Indeed, when asked about the development of the activity, their responses are very general and imprecise (see folios 40 and 41), as they do not explain how such production is carried out or what one needs to know about production in protected environments, although they are willing to receive training. By reason of the foregoing, this Court, acting as improper hierarchical body of the Instituto de Desarrollo Rural, considers that the challenged Agreement of the Board of Directors, namely article 56, of the ordinary session No. 40-2015 of November 2, 2015, conforms to the legal, technical, and priority criteria set forth in articles 46 of the Inder Law and 35 of the Regulation, in the sense that it is concluded that the applicants do not present knowledge related to the project and perform other activities. Thus, they are qualified with "inconsistent suitability (idoneidad inconsistente)" for the project intended to be developed. Indeed, concrete experience is not demonstrated in the questions posed to them, nor did they present evidence through which they can justify what was alleged in the appeal (recurso de apelación), in the sense that they have worked in the past in the production and maintenance of strawberries. The principle of equity, social justice, and solidarity has also been respected, as they have been given the opportunity to participate as interested parties in the project, but the qualification parameters have not favored them, as there are "priority" criteria, that is, of priority, for those persons who do demonstrate high or moderate suitability, or even low suitability with the possibility of technical training.

X.- In accordance with the foregoing, there being no factual or legal reasons to vary the decision reached, the appropriate course is to confirm the administrative resolution of the INDER." 1135-F-15 to 1138-F-15) The reasoning was as follows: "</span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic">II.</span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-style:italic">- From the analysis of the case file, this Court concludes that the appeals filed and sent by the Legal Advisory Office of the Instituto de Desarrollo Rural have been wrongly admitted before this Court for the following reasons: 1.- The agreement of the INDER Board of Directors was based on the provisions of Articles 14, 16, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, and 33 of the "Reglamento para la Selección y Asignación de Solicitantes de Tierras".</span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-style:italic">&#xa0;</span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-style:italic"> This Regulation corresponds to the one published in La Gaceta, No. 116 of June 16, 2010, which established, regarding the appeals regime, the following:</span></p><p style="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:25.5pt; text-align:justify; line-height:150%; font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Arial; font-style:italic">Article 27.—The General Secretariat shall communicate to the Subregional Office, with a copy to the Family Selection Area, the Regional Directorate, and the Titling and Notary Area, the agreements approving the reports. The Subregional Office shall be responsible for notifying each interested family in writing, at the place designated for that purpose, of what was agreed by the Board of Directors, within a period not exceeding fifteen business days from the date the Subregional Office receives the agreement, which must be recorded in the settlement (asentamiento) file.</span></p><p style="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:25.5pt; text-align:justify; line-height:150%; font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Arial; font-style:italic">Article 28.—Against the Board of Directors' agreement that denies the eligible status, </span><span style="font-family:Arial; font-style:italic; text-decoration:underline">a motion for reversal (recurso de revocatoria)</span><span style="font-family:Arial; font-style:italic"> may be filed, indicating the factual and legal grounds on which the disagreement is based, in accordance with the provisions of subsection 2 of Article 344 of the General Law on Public Administration, which must be formulated within a period of ten business days counted from the day following the notification of the Board of Directors' agreement. The appeal must be filed at the respective Subregional Office or Regional Directorate, which shall be obliged to render a technical-legal report, prior to being submitted for the consideration of the Board of Directors, within a period of fifteen business days, attaching a copy of the notification of the Board of Directors' agreement. They must also send a copy to the Family Selection Area.</span></p><p style="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify; line-height:150%; font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Arial; font-style:italic">Article 29.—Against the Board of Directors' agreement that denies the filed motion for reversal, </span><span style="font-family:Arial; font-style:italic; text-decoration:underline">a motion for review (recurso de revisión)</span><span style="font-family:Arial; font-style:italic"> may be filed when the circumstances of Articles 353 and 354 of the General Law on Public Administration concur. Said appeal must be filed at the respective Subregional Office or Regional Directorate, which shall be obliged to render a technical-legal report, prior to being submitted for the consideration of the Board of Directors, within a period of fifteen business days, attaching a copy of the notification of the Board of Directors' agreement. They must also send a copy to the Family Selection Area" </span></p><p style="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify; line-height:150%"><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-style:italic">&#xa0;</span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-style:italic">&#xa0;</span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-style:italic">&#xa0;</span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-style:italic">&#xa0;</span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-style:italic">&#xa0;</span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-style:italic">&#xa0;</span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-style:italic">&#xa0;</span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-style:italic">&#xa0;</span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-style:italic">&#xa0;</span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-style:italic">&#xa0;</span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-style:italic">&#xa0;</span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-style:italic">&#xa0;</span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-style:italic">&#xa0;</span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-style:italic">From the foregoing, it is clearly evident that this Agrarian Court lacks functional competence to hear the filed appeals, for which reason the appeal must be declared wrongly admitted. Furthermore, it is noted that it is the INDER's own Legal Advisory Office that misleads the interested persons, by indicating an appeals procedure contrary to the provisions of the regulation applied by the Board of Directors of the Instituto de Desarrollo Rural. This is because these persons are being told that, pursuant to Article 35 of the new Regulation of the INDER Law, they may file an appeal, which causes great legal insecurity and uncertainty to the detriment of the administered party</span><span style="font-family:Arial">.";</span><span style="font-family:Arial">&#xa0;</span><span style="font-family:Arial"> </span><span style="font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold">b)</span><span style="font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold">&#xa0;</span><span style="font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold"> </span><span style="font-family:Arial">On the other hand, the Agrarian Court, in another proceeding originating from the Institute, regarding the classification of a precarious occupation (ocupación precaria) conflict, through Vote No. 71-F-16 (Case File EXPN1), also declared the appeal wrongly admitted, considering the following: "</span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-style:italic">IV.- The appeal filed before this Court is wrongly admitted for the following reasons: a) The Law of the Instituto de Desarrollo Rural, in its Article 80, among other things, kept in force the Ley de Tierras y Colonización No. 2825 and "Expressly, the validity in all its aspects shall be maintained for chapter VI of Law No. 2825, Regulation of Conflicts between Owners and Possessors in Precarious Status, and its related regulations".</span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-style:italic">&#xa0;</span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-style:italic"> The referred chapter does not contain any rule granting an appeal against what is resolved by the Board of Directors in cases of precarious occupation conflict. On the contrary, the same Law establishes that with the decision of the INDER, the administrative channel is considered exhausted and the parties may resort to the corresponding judicial channel (Articles 94 and 95). Note that the appealed resolution expressly provides in its point 4): "To consider the administrative channel exhausted so that the parties, if they so wish, may ventilate their eventual rights in other instances". Thus, the procedure ends there, the foregoing, </span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-style:italic; text-decoration:underline">without prejudice to the motion for reversal (recurso de revocatoria) filed by the interested party</span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-style:italic">, and which was not heard by the remitting body.</span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-style:italic">&#xa0;</span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-style:italic"> b)</span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-style:italic">&#xa0;</span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-style:italic"> Secondly, the provision contained in Article 69 of the Ley de Tierras y Colonización is not an "open" appeal against all matters resolved by the Instituto de Desarrollo Rural, but rather refers to "...the administrative procedures for the revocation of land assignments (revocatoria de asignación) and nullity of property titles, other modalities of land assignment, as well as those linked to rural development...". In this case, we are facing a special proceeding of precarious occupation conflict, regulated in the Ley de Tierras y Colonización, and in which the appeal before the Agrarian Court is not provided for, which grants a specific means of challenge (see Article 177 of the Ley de Tierras y Colonización), especially since from a constitutional standpoint, the administrative channel is exhausted by the same body, that is, the Instituto de Desarrollo Rural.</span><span style="font-family:Arial">" </span><span style="font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold">c).-</span><span style="font-family:Arial"> Regarding the appeal filed on the occasion of the application of Title I, Chapter IV (Land and Rural Development Fund), Section V (Model of land assignment), concerning the selection or assignment of beneficiaries, the existence of specific rules that allow for the appeal, in the Law, must be considered, when such rules are applied in accordance with the new Regulation No. 38.975-MAG, which is the one currently in force. Indeed, Article 58 of the INDER Law provides: "</span><span style="font-family:Arial; font-style:italic">The respective assignments shall be subject to the existence of </span><span style="font-family:Arial; font-style:italic; text-decoration:underline">technical studies</span><span style="font-family:Arial; font-style:italic"> that guarantee the suitability of the applicants, the capacity of the lands, </span><span style="font-family:Arial; font-style:italic; text-decoration:underline">the productive project of the enterprise</span><span style="font-family:Arial; font-style:italic"> or the community service and its impact on rural development".</span><span style="font-family:Arial"> In addition, the Law adds regarding the conditions of access:</span><span style="font-family:Arial">&#xa0;</span><span style="font-family:Arial"> "The Inder shall provide lands under a lease modality, as a priority form, on farms it owns, for the </span><span style="font-family:Arial; text-decoration:underline">development of productive projects</span><span style="font-family:Arial"> or community impact services in rural territories, on an individual or collective basis, whether to natural or legal persons",</span><span style="font-family:Arial">&#xa0;</span><span style="font-family:Arial"> later it provides: "</span><span style="font-family:Arial; font-style:italic">The conditions under which families shall be provided with housing lots shall be established in a specific regulation that will determine the suitability of the families under a normative framework appropriate for rural conditions.".</span><span style="font-family:Arial; font-style:italic">&#xa0;</span><span style="font-family:Arial; font-style:italic"> </span><span style="font-family:Arial">Now then, Article 69 of the Law admits the appeal before the Agrarian Court in the following administrative procedures: </span><span style="font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold">a)</span><span style="font-family:Arial"> for the revocation of land assignment (revocatoria de asignación) and nullity of property titles; </span><span style="font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold">b) </span><span style="font-family:Arial">in other modalities of land assignment (understood as individual or collective assignment, individual or collective lease); </span><span style="font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold">c) </span><span style="font-family:Arial">resolutions linked to rural development. It must be the final resolution of the Inder Board of Directors.</span></p><p style="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify; line-height:150%"><span style="font-family:Arial">All the preceding provisions</span><span style="font-family:Arial">&#xa0;</span><span style="font-family:Arial"> relate to the provisions of Regulation No. 38975-MAG, whose Title II, Chapter II establishes the "General Procedures for the selection of beneficiaries", and Article 35 expressly establishes that "...</span><span style="font-family:Arial; font-style:italic">Applicants may appeal the Board of Directors' decision before the Agrarian Court within a maximum period of five business days after its notification, which may be filed at any office of the Institute, within the mentioned period</span><span style="font-family:Arial">...". Therefore, in this particular case, it is evident that the final resolution of the INDER is being challenged, insofar as it determines the lack of suitability, by application of the technical criterion of "inconsistent suitability (idoneidad inconsistente)", of the appellants herein, leaving them out of the productive project intended to be developed.</span><span style="font-family:Arial">&#xa0;</span><span style="font-family:Arial"> Hence, the appeal is admissible and is correctly admitted in this particular case.</span></p><p style="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify; line-height:150%"><span style="font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold">VI.- The role of the Instituto de Desarrollo Rural, in territorial rural development processes</span><span style="font-family:Arial">. </span><span style="font-family:Arial; color:#010101">The Central American Strategy for Territorial Rural Development </span><span style="font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; color:#010101">(ECADERT)</span><span style="font-family:Arial; color:#010101"> promoted by the Central American Agricultural Council by virtue of the mandate of the Meeting of Presidents (XXXIII) of December 5, 2008, constituting for this purpose an Intergovernmental Working Group. It is a legal agreement of the two main political decision-making bodies with normative authority of the Central American Integration System. The Strategy is based on a participatory and dynamic design, involving organized Civil Society and the different political actors. It seeks to rebuild a national model, making rural development policy a State policy, which also corresponds to "a shared vision" at the regional level. The ECADERT makes an analysis of the main trends in regional dynamics, emphasizing existing disparities, transformations of the Rural Environment, Central American experiences of Rural Development, to then move on to a conceptualization of the Strategy, based on the following pillars:</span></p><p style="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; line-height:150%"><span style="font-family:Arial; color:#010101">I.- Institutions for Territorial Rural Development: social management of policies</span></p><p style="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; line-height:150%"><span style="font-family:Arial; color:#010101">II.- Strengthening of the Rural Economy of the Territories</span></p><p style="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; line-height:150%"><span style="font-family:Arial; color:#010101">III.- Rural Society and Territorial Identity: cooperation and social inclusion networks</span></p><p style="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; line-height:150%"><span style="font-family:Arial; color:#010101">IV.- Nature and territories: access and management of environmental resources.</span></p><p style="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:17pt; text-align:justify; line-height:150%"><span style="font-family:Arial; color:#010101">&#xa0;</span><span style="font-family:Arial; color:#010101">&#xa0;</span><span style="font-family:Arial; color:#010101">&#xa0;</span><span style="font-family:Arial; color:#010101">&#xa0;</span><span style="font-family:Arial; color:#010101">&#xa0;</span><span style="font-family:Arial; color:#010101">The legal framework must be the basis for the implementation of any Strategy, and especially through the use of the instrument of the community regulation, according to the competencies assigned to the Central American Agricultural Council, in Articles 45 and 55 of the Guatemala Protocol. The Council of Ministers, acting sectorially, or intersectorially with other Ministries, is empowered to issue derived normative acts, namely, resolutions and regulations, through which it establishes the bases of that common regional agricultural policy.</span><span style="font-family:Arial; color:#010101">&#xa0;</span><span style="font-family:Arial; color:#010101"> The recent efforts of the Central American Agricultural Council -CAC-, in the design of the PACA, or Central American agricultural policy ([Telf1]), as well as the Strategies developed, must necessarily be accompanied by normative legal instruments that allow facing the challenges derived from food security, climate change, and agro-environmental, agri-food, and rural development sustainability. Precisely,</span><span style="font-family:Arial; color:#010101">&#xa0;</span><span style="font-family:Arial; color:#010101"> in order to respond to that transformation towards territorial and integral rural development, </span><span style="font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; color:#010101">Law No. 9036</span><span style="font-family:Arial; color:#010101"> is published, sanctioned on May 11, 2012, called “</span><span style="font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; color:#010101">Ley de Transformación del Instituto de Desarrollo Agrario (IDA) en Instituto de Desarrollo Rural (INDER)”</span><span style="font-family:Arial; color:#010101">. It aims to establish territorial rural development as a State policy, under the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, as the governing body of the national agricultural sector, and its execution is entrusted to the Institute (Article 1). It incorporates into its definitions the productive agricultural activities (agriculture, livestock, forestry, aquaculture, fishing, and mariculture) and the criterion of multifunctionality, including the constitutional principles of promotion of production, equitable distribution of wealth, solidarity, and social justice (Article 3). Title II sets out the institutional transformation of the IDA into INDER, establishing its patrimonial and financial regime (Articles 14 to 37), but also includes substantive rules for the creation of a Land Fund, the provision systems, through lease or assignment, individual and collective, based on productive or service projects for territorial rural development (Articles 38 to 72). Likewise, a Rural Development Fund is created, regulating the institute of rural credit (Articles 73-77).</span><span style="color:#010101">&#xa0;</span><span style="color:#010101">&#xa0;</span><span style="color:#010101">&#xa0;</span><span style="color:#010101">&#xa0;</span><span style="color:#010101">&#xa0;</span><span style="color:#010101">&#xa0;</span><span style="color:#010101">&#xa0;</span><span style="font-family:Arial; color:#010101">It is established in its final and transitory provisions, the validation and remediation of the regime of adjudicated agrarian property. Finally, the competence over agrarian conflicts</span><span style="font-family:Arial; color:#010101">&#xa0;</span><span style="font-family:Arial; color:#010101"> is granted to the Agrarian Jurisdiction, or to the Contentious-Administrative Jurisdiction when appropriate.</span></p><p style="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-align:justify; line-height:150%"><span style="font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold">VII.- On the qualification criteria established in the Law and its regulation</span><span style="font-family:Arial">.- Article 69 of the Law of the Instituto de Desarrollo Rural provides that the appeal must be resolved in accordance with the principles of equity, rational use, social justice, and solidarity set forth in Articles 69 and 74 of the Political Constitution. It is undoubtedly a matter of adding these principle-values to the objective parameters established by the same legal system, to guarantee the development of the principle of the social function of property, particularly the "access" to agrarian property (whether by assignment or by lease), for all those persons who, having adequate technical capacity (experience in agriculture), habituality and continuity, in the development of agricultural work, nevertheless lack the means of production suitable for their sustainable rural development.</span><span style="font-family:Arial">&#xa0;</span><span style="font-family:Arial"> The Law in its general part (Title I, on territorial rural development), establishes some definitions and elements that the Court must take into consideration. Indeed, Article 3 defines rural family economies as: "</span><span style="font-family:Arial; font-style:italic">Economic units or enterprises that operate in a self-managed manner by the family, with or without access to land and to the rural area in general. They behave as family enterprises since the family constitutes the labor reserve and, at the same time, a consumption unit. Due to the possibility of satisfying consumption needs with their own production, they combine subsistence and market production... This definition includes microproducers". </span><span style="font-family:Arial">This definition is extremely important because it involves the theoretical concepts of family "enterprise" and "microproducers", one of its essential characteristics being habituality and continuity in the exercise of agricultural work (knowledge of good agricultural technique), for the sustenance of themselves and their family, or for a projection to the market. A definition that, without a doubt, is also associated with the provisions of subsection ñ) of the same Article 3, which defines small and medium-sized agricultural rural producers, using the qualifier of economic units of an entrepreneurial nature. Hence, the INDER, for the fulfillment of the social function of property (principle contained in Article 4 of the Law), must also create spaces for participation and human development, through the identification of human talents, or through the generation of capacities to allow the adequate development of productive processes that enable integral rural development. For its part, the regulation, in its Title II, Chapter II, establishes the "General Procedures for the selection of beneficiaries", referring to the provisions of Article 2 in relation to Article 46 subsection c) of Law 9036, with which the concepts of microentrepreneur and small producer were already mentioned, which must be determined under technical criteria,</span><span style="font-family:Arial">&#xa0;</span><span style="font-family:Arial"> also considering that, pursuant to subsection d) of Article 46, there must be a "Commitment to maintain the land in use and exploit it personally, in accordance with the projects that justified the assignment. The lessee or assignee shall be understood as the person who demonstrates experience in productive projects, does not have land or possesses it insufficiently, assumes the commitment to keep the land in use. And the regulation, in Article 28, reiterates and expands the subjective qualifications as follows: a) Micro producer:</span><span style="font-family:Arial">&#xa0;</span><span style="font-family:Arial"> Develops or plans to develop a productive activity for self-consumption and sale of surpluses sporadically or continuously in the market, applying or not a minimal transformation to the product generated. Has only family labor available; furthermore, the gross monthly income of the family nucleus generated must not exceed the equivalent of three minimum wages of an unskilled worker. b) Small producer: Develops or plans to develop a productive activity constantly. Commercializes most of the production, with or without transformation, to the national market. Has a growing participation in the market. Uses family labor but hires labor for specific activities; furthermore, the gross monthly income generated must not exceed the equivalent of five minimum wages of an unskilled worker."</span><span style="font-family:Arial">&#xa0;</span><span style="font-family:Arial"> To apply for suitability (idoneidad), the Inder carries out a comprehensive technical study, whose terms and requirements are set forth in Articles 29 to</span><span style="font-family:Arial">&#xa0;</span><span style="font-family:Arial"> 34, and the technician in charge must make the inquiries deemed necessary to verify the information provided by the interested parties. Hence, the so-called "SUITABILITY RESOLUTORY REPORT (INFORME RESOLUTORIO DE IDONEIDAD)" applicable to natural persons, contemplates the Territory, the Project, the economic and rootedness analysis of the applicant, the social and technical analysis, and a recommendation regarding the qualification of their "suitability", which is based on the ranges established in Article 31 of the Regulation, in strict order of precedence (from highest to lowest), according to the</span><span style="font-family:Arial">&#xa0;</span><span style="font-family:Arial"> following scale:</span><span style="font-family:Arial">&#xa0;</span><span style="font-family:Arial"> Highly suitable (90 to 100), Moderate suitability (80 to 89), Low suitability (60 to 79), and Inconsistent suitability (0 to 59), with highly suitable and moderately suitable persons having preference in their designation, but even those considered of low suitability may have possibilities, because in such case, Article 32 indicates that "..</span><span style="font-family:Arial; font-style:italic">the technical support and training required by the project sponsors must be provided, with the purpose of contributing to the process of generating human capacities... so as to enable them to develop the project effectively and efficiently</span><span style="font-family:Arial">".</span></p><p style="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify; line-height:150%"><span style="font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold">VIII.- The territorial rural development policy, as a State policy.-</span><span style="font-family:Arial"> The Inder Law establishes, in Chapter II, the territorial rural development policy as a public policy, that is, as a State policy (Articles 5 to 8). To make this policy effective, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, through the Executive Secretariat for Planning of the Agricultural Sector (including the agri-food sector) and the Instituto de Desarrollo Rural, launched the "</span><span style="font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic">Política de Estado para el Desarrollo Rural Territorial Costarricense (PEDRT)</span><span style="font-family:Arial">" [Telf2] of September 2015. Its vision is the creation of integrated rural territories that allow improving the standard of living of the population in development processes, and its objectives are to promote inclusive development for the most needy persons in rural territories, generating training processes and opportunities, in order to reduce inequality and social inequity.</span><span style="font-family:Arial">&#xa0;</span><span style="font-family:Arial"> In what concerns this specific case, and in accordance with what is indicated in the preceding recital, "...</span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Calibri; font-size:11pt">The target population or recipients of the goods and services of the plans, programs, and projects derived from the policy are conceptualized as natural and legal persons, integrated into the territorial rural development processes, in accordance with the following description: 1. </span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Calibri; font-size:11pt; font-weight:bold">Natural persons</span><span style="line-height:150%; font-family:Calibri; font-size:11pt">: The following types are included: male and female producers; male and female producers of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, and natural persons who are not income generators.</span> They are characterized as follows: • **Producers (Productores y productoras)**: They head what are known as rural family economies. These are economic units that operate on a self-managed basis by the family, with or without access to land in the rural area. They behave as family enterprises since the family constitutes the labor reserve and, at the same time, is a consumption unit. Due to the possibility of satisfying consumption needs with their own production, they combine subsistence and market production. • **Producers (micro, small and medium) (Productores y productoras (micro, pequeño y mediano))**: Persons who develop economic units of an entrepreneurial nature, in which the family's participation is not definitive. The majority of their production is destined for the market and they regularly use hired labor. • **Natural persons not generating income (Personas físicas no generadoras de ingresos)**. These are persons who do not have a specific income-generating activity or have unrecognized income (e.g., homemakers, students, unemployed persons, among others). • **Persons with disabilities, older adults, women, youth, ethnic groups, indigenous peoples (Personas con discapacidad, adultos mayores, mujeres, jóvenes, grupos étnicos, pueblos originarios)**. Persons who have traditionally been made invisible and excluded from access to State goods and services. **2. Legal persons (Personas jurídicas)**: Organizations of different natures from the rural environment, among them:

• Organizations engaged in productive activities in the rural environment, which have legal personality (personería jurídica). • Organizations engaged in diverse activities, composed of persons with disabilities, older adults, women, youth, governments of indigenous peoples and ethnic groups that have legal personality. • Organizations constituted by graduates of technical-professional high schools and university graduates that have valid legal personality. • Micro, small, and medium enterprises, economic units of an entrepreneurial nature, the majority of whose production is destined for the market and which regularly use hired labor. • Community Organizations with legal personality whose purpose is to foster the integral development of their environment and improve the living conditions of their community. • Local governments: These are constituted by the municipalities, with cantonal coverage, and the District Councils, when applicable. They have political, economic, and administrative autonomy in matters within their competence. • Public institutions, with which agreements and strategic alliances are signed. Within the framework of the Policy, the articulation of the public and private sectors is considered strategic, to contribute to income generation through the execution of production initiatives in the territories..." On the other hand, for the realization of said policy, the creation of Rural Territories is taken into consideration, and it is part of a whole strategic planning process, which goes from the local level (local and municipal councils), to the territorial level (territorial rural development plans approved by the Territorial Councils), then to the Regional level (regional rural development plans and Regional Councils) to finalize its implementation at the National level. Within this entire planning process, as has been stated, it is the local and territorial councils that propose, among other things, the implementation of works, or productive projects that may be useful for the rural community, and for whose execution, logically, an entire selective process is required in order to analyze the technical and legal requirements demanded by the Law and its regulations, in order to determine which would be the most suitable persons - technical criterion - and, why not, the most needy - equity criterion - but with productive knowledge and capacity.

**IX.- Analysis of the specific case**.- Within the context previously described, and supported by a territorial rural development policy, INDER initiates the **"suitability" (idoneidad)** studies, carried out on different natural persons, to form the Vara Blanca Strawberry Producers Group, called MIGVARAB-Gamaliel, for the development of the productive project called: "Strawberry Production in a Protected Environment" for the territory of Santa Bárbara, Barva, San Isidro, San Rafael Vara Blanca, and which is approved by the Development Directorate. In the particular case, the Tribunal has considered the responses provided by the interested parties regarding prior knowledge and experience, technical knowledge of protected environments (greenhouses), training, and knowledge of the project; however, it is clear that for several years both applicants have been disconnected from this type of activity, and have dedicated themselves to other tasks (dairy farming and hotel business). That is, they have not had continuity or regularity in strawberry cultivation. The final report concludes that they lack a track record and lack knowledge and skills related to strawberry cultivation in a protected environment. Indeed, when asked about the development of the activity, their responses are very general and imprecise (see folios 40 and 41), as they do not explain how this production is done or what one needs to know about production in protected environments, although they are willing to receive training. By reason of the foregoing, this Tribunal, acting as an improper hierarchical body of the Rural Development Institute, considers that the challenged Board of Directors Agreement, namely article 56, of ordinary session No. 40-2015 of November 2, 2015, conforms to the legal, technical, and priority criteria, set forth in articles 46 of the Inder Law and 35 of the Regulations, in the sense that it is concluded that the applicants do not present knowledge related to the project and work in other activities. Thus, they are rated as having "inconsistent suitability" with the project intended to be developed. Indeed, the questions posed to them do not demonstrate concrete experience, and they also did not present evidence by which they could justify what was alleged in the appeal, in the sense that they have worked in the past in strawberry production and maintenance.

The principle of equity, social justice, and solidarity has also been respected, as they have been given the opportunity to participate as interested parties in the project, but the qualification parameters have not favored them, given the existence of criteria of "prelación" (priority) for those persons who do demonstrate high or moderate suitability, or even low suitability with the possibility of technical training.

**X.**- In accordance with the foregoing, there being no reasons, whether factual or legal, to vary what was decided, the appropriate course is to confirm the administrative resolution of INDER.

In this case, we are dealing with a special proceeding for a precarious occupation conflict, regulated in the Ley de Tierras y Colonización, in which the appeal before the Tribunal Agrario is not provided for; it grants a limited instrument of challenge (see article 177 of the Ley de Tierras y Colonización), especially since, from a constitutional standpoint, the entity exhausting the administrative channel is the same body, i.e., the Instituto de Desarrollo Rural. c).- Regarding the appeal filed in connection with the application of Title I, Chapter IV (Fondo de tierras y de desarrollo rural), Section V (Modelo de asignación de tierras), concerning the selection or allocation of beneficiaries, the existence of specific rules that allow for the appeal in the Law must be considered when such rules are applied in accordance with the new Reglamento No. 38.975-MAG, which is currently in force. Indeed, article 58 of the Ley INDER provides: "The respective allocations shall be subject to the existence of technical studies (estudios técnicos) that guarantee the suitability of the applicants, the capacity of the lands, the productive project of the enterprise (proyecto productivo de la empresa) or the community service and its impact on rural development." Furthermore, the Law adds regarding the conditions of access: "El Inder shall provide lands under a lease modality, as a priority form, on its own properties, for the development of productive projects (desarrollo de proyectos productivos) or community-impact services in rural territories, on an individual or collective basis, whether to natural or legal persons," later it provides: "The conditions under which families will be provided with lots for housing will be established in a specific regulation that will determine the suitability of the families under an adequate framework for rural conditions." Now, article 69 of the Law admits the appeal before the Tribunal Agrario in the following administrative procedures: a) revocation of allocation and nullity of property titles; b) in other modalities of land allocation (understood as individual or collective allocation, individual or collective lease); c) resolutions linked to rural development. It must be the final resolution of the Junta Directiva of the Inder.

All the foregoing provisions relate to what is stipulated in Reglamento No. 38975-MAG, whose Title II, Chapter II establishes the "Procedimientos Generales para la selección de personas beneficiarias," with article 35 expressly establishing that "...Applicant persons may appeal the decision of the Junta Directiva before the Tribunal Agrario within a maximum period of five business days after its notification, which may be filed at any office of the Institute, within the mentioned period...". Therefore, in this particular case, it is evident that the final resolution of the INDER is being challenged, insofar as it determines the unsuitability, by applying the technical criterion of "idoneidad inconsistente," of the appellants here, leaving them out of the productive project intended to be developed. Hence, the appeal is appropriate and has been properly admitted in this particular case.

VI.- The role of the Instituto de Desarrollo Rural, in territorial rural development processes. The Estrategia Centroamericana de Desarrollo Rural Territorial (ECADERT) was promoted by the Consejo Agropecuario Centroamericano under the mandate of the XXXIII Meeting of Presidents on December 5, 2008, constituting for this purpose an Intergovernmental Working Group. It is a legal agreement of the two main political decision-making bodies with normative authority of the Sistema de Integración Centroamericana. The Strategy is based on a participatory and dynamic design, involving organized Civil Society and the different political actors. It seeks to rebuild a national model, making rural development policy a State policy, which also corresponds to "a shared vision" at the regional level. The ECADERT makes an analysis of the main trends in regional dynamics, emphasizing existing disparities, the transformations of the Rural Environment, and the Central American experiences of Rural Development, before moving on to a conceptualization of the Strategy, based on the following pillars:

I.- Institutions for Territorial Rural Development: social management of policies II.- Strengthening of the Rural Economy of the Territories III.- Rural Society and Territorial Identity: cooperation networks in social inclusion IV.- Nature and territories: access and management of environmental resources.

The legal framework must be the basis for the implementation of any Strategy, and especially through the use of the community regulation instrument, according to the competences assigned to the Consejo Agropecuario Centroamericano, in articles 45 and 55 of the Protocolo de Guatemala. The Council of Ministers, acting sectorially, or intersectorially, with other Ministries, is empowered to issue secondary normative acts, namely, resolutions and regulations, through which it establishes the bases of that common regional agricultural policy. The recent efforts of the Consejo Agropecuario Centroamericano -CAC-, in the design of the PACA, or Central American agricultural policy ([Telf1]), as well as the Strategies developed, must necessarily be accompanied by normative legal instruments that allow for facing the challenges derived from food security, climate change, and agro-environmental, agri-food, and rural development sustainability. Precisely, in order to respond to that transformation towards territorial and integral rural development, Ley No. 9036 was published, enacted on May 11, 2012, named "Ley de Transformación del Instituto de Desarrollo Agrario (IDA) en Instituto de Desarrollo Rural (INDER)." The same aims to establish territorial rural development as a State policy, under the responsibility of the Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería, as the governing body of the national agricultural sector, and its execution is entrusted to the Institute (article 1). It incorporates into its definitions the productive agricultural activities (agriculture, livestock, forestry, aquaculture, fishing, and mariculture) and the criterion of multifunctionality, including the constitutional principles of promotion of production, equitable distribution of wealth, solidarity, and social justice (article 3). In Title II, the institutional transformation of IDA into INDER is proposed, establishing its patrimonial and financial regime (articles 14 to 37), but substantive norms are also included for the creation of a Fondo de Tierras, the provision systems, through lease or allocation, individual and collective, based on productive or service projects for territorial rural development (articles 38 to 72). Likewise, a Fondo de Desarrollo rural is created, regulating the institute of rural credit (articles 73-77). The validation and rectification of the regime of allocated agrarian property are established in its final and transitional provisions. Finally, jurisdiction over agrarian conflicts is granted to the Jurisdicción agraria, or to the contencioso-administrativa when applicable.

VII.- Regarding the qualification criteria established in the Law and its regulation.- Article 69 of the Law of the Instituto de Desarrollo Rural provides that the appeal must be resolved in accordance with the principles of equity, rational use, social justice, and solidarity provided for in articles 69 and 74 of the Constitución Política. It is undoubtedly a matter of adding these principle-values to the objective parameters set by the same legal system, to guarantee the development of the principle of the social function of property, in particular the "access" to agrarian property (whether through allocation or lease), to all those persons who, having adequate technical capacity (experience in agriculture), habitualness, and continuity in the development of agricultural tasks, nevertheless lack the suitable means of production for their sustainable rural development. The Law, in its general part (Title I, on territorial rural development), establishes some definitions and elements that it is necessary for the Court to take into consideration. Indeed, article 3 defines rural family economies as: "Economic units or enterprises that function on a self-managed basis by the family, with or without access to land and generally to the rural area. They behave as family enterprises since the family constitutes the labor reserve and, at the same time, a consumption unit. Due to the possibility of satisfying consumption needs with their own production, they combine subsistence and market production... This definition includes microproducers (microproductores)." This definition is extremely important because it involves the theoretical concepts of family "enterprise" and "microproducers," one of their essential characteristics being habitualness and continuity in the exercise of agrarian tasks (knowledge of good agricultural techniques), for the support of themselves and their family, or for a market projection. A definition that is undoubtedly also associated with the provisions of subparagraph ñ) of the same article 3, which defines small and medium rural agricultural producers, using the qualifier of economic units of a business nature. Hence, the INDER, for the fulfillment of the social function of property (a principle contained in article 4 of the Law), must also create spaces for participation and human development, through the identification of human talents, or through the generation of capacities to allow the adequate development of the productive processes that enable integral rural development. For its part, the regulation in its Title II, Chapter II establishes the "Procedimientos Generales para la selección de personas beneficiarias," referring to the provisions of article 2 in relation to article 46 subparagraph c) of Ley 9036, with which the concepts of microentrepreneur and small producer have already been mentioned, which must be determined under technical criteria, also considering that, in accordance with subparagraph d) of article 46, there must be a "Commitment to keep the land in use and to exploit it personally, in accordance with the projects that justified the allocation. The lessee (arrendataria) or allottee (asignataria) shall be understood as the person who demonstrates experience in productive projects, has no land or possesses it insufficiently, and assumes the commitment to keep the land in use." And the regulation, in article 28, reiterates and expands the subjective qualifications as follows: a) Micro producer (Micro productor y productora): Develops or projects to develop a productive activity for self-consumption and the sporadic or continuous sale of surpluses in the market, applying or not a minimal transformation to the product generated. Only uses family labor, and the gross monthly income of the family unit generated must not exceed the equivalent of three minimum wages of an unskilled worker. b) Small producer (Pequeño productor o productora): Develops or projects to develop a productive activity constantly. Sells most of the production, with or without transformation, to the national market. Has a growing participation in the market. Uses family labor, but hires labor for specific activities, and the gross monthly income generated must not exceed the equivalent of five minimum wages of an unskilled worker." To apply for suitability, the Inder carries out a comprehensive technical study, whose terms and requirements are contemplated in articles 29 to 34, with the technician in charge being required to make the inquiries deemed necessary to verify the information provided by the interested parties. Hence, the so-called "INFORME RESOLUTORIO DE IDONEIDAD" applicable to natural persons contemplates the Territory, the Project, the economic analysis and rootedness of the applicant, the social and technical analysis, and a recommendation regarding the qualification of their "suitability," which is based on the ranges established by article 31 of the Regulation, in strict order of precedence (from highest to lowest), according to the following scale: Highly suitable (Altamente idóneo) (90 to 100), Moderate suitability (Moderada idoneidad) (80 to 89), Low suitability (Baja idoneidad) (60 to 79), and Inconsistent suitability (Idoneidad inconsistente) (0 to 59), with highly suitable and moderately suitable persons having preference in their designation, but even those considered of low suitability may have possibilities, because in such case, article 32 indicates that "...the technical support and training required must be provided to them by the project sponsors with the aim of contributing to the process of generating human capacities... so as to allow them to develop the project effectively and efficiently." VIII.- The territorial rural development policy, as a State policy.- The Ley Inder, in Chapter II, establishes the territorial rural development policy as a public policy, that is, as a State policy (articles 5 to 8). To make this policy effective, the Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería, through the Secretaria Ejecutiva de Planificación del Sector Agropecuario (including the agri-food sector) and the Instituto de Desarrollo Rural, launched the "Política de Estado para el Desarrollo Rural Territorial Costarricense (PEDRT)" [Telf2] of September 2015. Its vision is the creation of integrated rural territories that allow for improving the standard of living of the population in the development processes, and its objectives are to promote inclusive development in the rural territories for the people most in need, generating training processes and opportunities, in order to reduce social inequality and inequity. Regarding what is relevant for this specific case, and in accordance with the preceding recital, "...It is conceptualized as the target population or recipients of the goods and services of the plans, programs, and projects derived from the policy, the natural and legal persons, integrated into the territorial rural development processes, according to the following description: 1. Natural persons (Personas físicas): The following types are included: producers (productores y productoras); micro, small, and medium enterprise producers (productores y productoras de la micro, pequeña y mediana empresa) and non-income-generating natural persons. They are characterized as follows:  Producers (Productores y productoras): They are at the head of the so-called rural family economies. They are economic units that function on a self-managed basis by the family, with or without access to land in the rural area. They behave as family ventures since the family constitutes the labor reserve and, at the same time, is a consumption unit. Due to the possibility of satisfying consumption needs with their own production, they combine subsistence and market production. Producers (micro, small, and medium) (Productores y productoras (micro, pequeño y mediano)): Persons who develop economic units of a business nature, in which family participation is not definitive. Most of their production is destined for the market and they regularly use hired labor. Non-income-generating natural persons (Personas físicas no generadoras de ingresos). These are persons who do not have a specific income-generating activity or have unrecognized income (e.g., homemakers, students, unemployed persons, among others). Persons with disabilities, older adults, women, youth, ethnic groups, native peoples. Persons who have traditionally been made invisible and excluded from access to State goods and services. 2. Legal persons (Personas jurídicas): Organizations of different nature from the rural environment, among them:

Organizations dedicated to productive activities in the rural environment, which have legal status. Organizations dedicated to diverse activities, composed of persons with disabilities, older adults, women, youth, governments of native peoples and ethnic groups that have legal status. Organizations formed by graduates of technical-professional schools and university graduates who have current legal status. Micro, small, and medium enterprise, economic units of a business nature, most of their production is destined for the market and they regularly use hired labor.Community Organizations with legal status that have the purpose of fostering the integral development of their environment and improving the living conditions of their community. Local governments: These are constituted by the municipalities, with cantonal coverage, and the District Councils, when applicable. They have political, economic, and administrative autonomy in matters within their competence. Public institutions, with which agreements and strategic alliances are signed. Within the framework of the Policy, the articulation of the public and private sectors is considered strategic, to contribute to income generation through the execution of production initiatives in the territories..." On the other hand, for the implementation of said policy, the creation of Rural Territories is taken into consideration, and it is part of a whole strategic planning process, ranging from the local level (local and municipal councils), to the territorial level (territorial rural development plans approved by the Territorial Councils), then to the Regional level (regional rural development plans and Regional Councils) to finally complete its implementation at the National level. Within this entire planning process, as has been said, it is the local and territorial councils that propose, among other things, the implementation of works, or productive projects that may be useful for the rural community, and for whose execution, it is logically required to carry out a whole selective process in order to analyze the technical and legal requirements demanded by the Law and its regulation, in order to determine which persons would be the most suitable - technical criterion - and, why not, the most needy - equity criterion - but with knowledge and productive capacity.

IX.- Analysis of the specific case.- Within the context described above, and supported by a territorial rural development policy, the INDER begins the "suitability (idoneidad)" studies, carried out on different natural persons, to integrate the Grupo de Productores de Fresa Vara Blanca, called MIGVARAB-Gamaliel, for the development of the Productive Project named: "Producción de Fresas en Ambiente Protegido" of the territory Santa Bárbara, Barva, San Isidro, San Rafael Vara Blanca, and which is approved by the Dirección de Desarrollo.

In this particular case, the Tribunal has considered the responses provided by the interested parties regarding prior knowledge and experience, technical knowledge of protected environments (greenhouses), training, and knowledge of the project. However, it is evident that for several years both applicants have been disconnected from this type of activity and have dedicated themselves to other work (dairy farming and hospitality). That is, they have not had continuity or regularity in strawberry cultivation. The final report concludes that they lack a track record and are deficient in knowledge and skills related to strawberry cultivation in a protected environment. Indeed, when asked about the development of the activity, their answers are very general and imprecise (see folios 40 and 41), as they do not explain how such production is carried out or what one needs to know about production in protected environments, although they are willing to receive training. In view of the foregoing, this Tribunal, acting as improper hierarchical superior of the Instituto de Desarrollo Rural, considers that the challenged Board of Directors' Agreement, namely article 56, of ordinary session No. 40-2015 of November 2, 2015, conforms to the legal, technical, and priority (prelación) criteria set forth in articles 46 of the Ley Inder and 35 of the Reglamento, in the sense that it is concluded that the applicants do not present knowledge related to the project and work in other activities. Thus, they are rated as having "inconsistent suitability" with the project intended to be developed. Indeed, the questions posed to them did not demonstrate concrete experience, nor did they present evidence through which they could justify what was alleged in the appeal, in the sense that they have worked in the past in the production and maintenance of strawberries. The principles of equity, social justice, and solidarity have also been respected, as they were given the opportunity to participate as interested parties in the project, but the qualification parameters did not favor them, as there are criteria of "prelación", that is, priority, for those persons who do demonstrate high or moderate suitability, or even low suitability with the possibility of technical training.

**X.**- In accordance with the foregoing, there being no reasons, in fact or in law, to vary what was resolved, the proper course is to confirm the administrative resolution of INDER."

“V.- Sobre la admisibilidad del recurso de apelación.- En primer lugar, este Tribunal debe referirse necesariamente a la admisibilidad del presente recurso de apelación, siendo este caso distinto a los resueltos anteriormente. Se dice lo anterior, por cuanto, en algunos votos anteriores el Tribunal, declaró mal admitidos los recursos de reposición. Por ello es necesario hacer referencia, hasta este momento, al menos a tres criterios de admisibilidad: a) en algunos procesos de calificación, en los cuales se aplicó el reglamento del año 2010 (ver, entre otros, los votos No. 1135-F-15 al 1138-F-15) El razonamiento fue el siguiente: "II.- Del análisis de los autos, este Tribunal concluye que los recursos interpuestos y enviados por la Asesoría Legal del Instituto de Desarrollo Rural, han sido mal admitidos ante este Tribunal por lo siguiente: 1.- El acuerdo de la Junta Directiva del INDER, se sustentó, en lo dispuesto en los artículos 14, 16, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32 y 33 del "Reglamento para la Selección y Asignación de Solicitantes de Tierras". Este Reglamento corresponde al publicado en La Gaceta, No. 116 del 16 de junio del 2010, en el cual se estableció, en cuanto al régimen de impugnaciones lo siguiente:

Artículo 27.—La Secretaría General comunicará a la Oficina Subregional, con copia al Área de Selección de Familias, a la Dirección Regional y al Área de Escrituración y Notariado, los acuerdos de aprobación de los informes. La Oficina Subregional tendrá la responsabilidad de notificar por escrito a cada familia interesada, en el lugar señalado para el efecto, lo acordado por la Junta Directiva, en un plazo no mayor a quince días hábiles a partir de que la Oficina Subregional recibe el acuerdo, lo que deberá constar en el expediente del asentamiento.

Artículo 28.—Contra el acuerdo de la Junta Directiva que deniegue la condición de elegible, cabrá recurso de revocatoria debiendo indicar los motivos de hecho y derecho en que fundamenta su disconformidad, de acuerdo a lo dispuesto en el inciso 2 del artículo 344 de la Ley General de la Administración Pública, el que deberá formularse dentro del plazo de diez hábiles contados a partir del día siguiente de la notificación del acuerdo de Junta Directiva. El recurso deberá interponerse en la Oficina Subregional o la Dirección Regional respectiva quienes quedaran obligadas a rendir un informe técnico-legal, previo a ser sometido a conocimiento de la Junta Directiva, en un plazo de quince días hábiles, adjuntando copia de la notificación del acuerdo de Junta Directiva. Igualmente deben remitir copia al Área de Selección de Familias.

Artículo 29.—Contra el acuerdo de Junta Directiva que deniegue el recurso de revocatoria interpuesto, cabrá el recurso de revisión cuando concurran las circunstancias de los artículos 353 y 354 de la Ley General de la Administración Pública. Dicho recurso deberá ser presentado en la Oficina Subregional o en la Dirección Regional respectiva, quienes quedaran obligadas a rendir un informe técnico-legal, previo a ser sometido a conocimiento de la Junta Directiva, en un plazo de quince días hábiles, adjuntando copia de la notificación del acuerdo de Junta Directiva. Igualmente deben remitir copia al Área de Selección de Familias" De lo anteriormente expuesto, se desprende con toda claridad, que este Tribunal Agrario, no tiene competencia funcional para conocer de los recursos interpuestos, razón por lo cual debe declararse mal admitida la apelación. Además, se hace ver que es la propia Asesoría Legal del INDER, la que induce a error a las personas interesadas, al indicarles un procedimiento de impugnación contrario a lo dispuesto en el reglamento aplicado por la Junta Directiva del Instituto de Desarrollo Rural. Ello porque se les está indicando a estas personas, que conforme al artículo 35 del nuevo Reglamento de la Ley INDER, pueden presentar recurso apelación, lo cual provoca una gran inseguridad e incertidumbre jurídica en perjuicio del administrado."; b) Por otra parte, el Tribunal agrario, en otro proceso proveniente del Instituto, en cuanto a la calificación de un conflicto de ocupación precaria, mediante el Voto No. 71-F-16 (Expediente EXPN1), también declaró mal admitida la apelación considerando lo siguiente: "IV.- El recurso de apelación interpuesto ante este Tribunal, está mal admitido por lo siguiente: a) La Ley del Instituto de Desarrollo Rural, en su artículo 80, entre otras cosas mantuvo vigente la Ley de Tierras y Colonización No. 2825 y "Expresamente, se mantendrá la vigencia en todos sus extremos, el capítulo VI de la Ley No. 2825, Regulación de Conflictos entre Propietarios y Poseedores en Precario, y su normativa conexa". El referido capitulo no contiene ninguna norma que conceda recurso de apelación a lo resuelto por la Junta Directiva en casos de conflicto de ocupación precaria. Por el contrario, la misma Ley establece que con lo resuelto por el INDER, se da por agotada la vía administrativa y las partes pueden acudir a la vía judicial que corresponda (artículo 94 y 95). Véase que la resolución impugnada, expresamente dispone en su punto 4): "Dar por agotada la vía administrativa a fin de que las partes si lo desean ventilen sus eventuales derechos en otras instancias". De manera que ahí acaba el procedimiento, lo anterior, sin perjuicio del recurso de revocatoria que interpone el interesado, y que no fue conocido por el órgano remitente. b) En segundo término, la disposición contenida en el artículo 69 de la Ley de Tierras y Colonización, no es un recurso de apelación "abierto", a todos los asuntos que resuelva el Instituto de Desarrollo Rural, sino que se refiere a "...los procedimientos administrativos de revocatoria de asignación y nulidad de títulos de propiedad, otras modalidades de asignación de tierras, así como las vinculadas al desarrollo rural...". En este caso, estamos frente a un proceso especial de conflicto de ocupación precaria, regulado en la Ley de Tierras y Colonización, y en el cual no está previsto el recurso de apelación ante el Tribunal Agrario, el cual concede un instrumento de impugnación taxativo (ver artículo 177 de la Ley de Tierras y Colonización), máxime que desde el punto de vista constitucional, quien agota la vía administrativa es el mismo órgano, sea el Instituto de Desarrollo Rural." c).- En cuanto al recurso de apelación interpuesto con motivo de la aplicación del Título I, Capítulo IV (Fondo de tierras y de desarrollo rural), Sección V (Modelo de asignación de tierras), en cuanto a la selección o asignación de beneficiarios debe considerarse la existencia de normas concretas que le dan cabida, en la Ley, al recurso de apelación, cuando se apliquen tales normas en consonancia con el nuevo Reglamento No. 38.975-MAG, y que es el actualmente vigente. En efecto, el artículo 58 de la Ley INDER dispone: "Las asignaciones respectivas estarán sujetas a la existencia de estudios técnicos que garanticen la idoneidad de los solicitantes, la cabida de las tierras, el proyecto productivo de la empresa o el servicio comunitario y su impacto para el desarrollo rural". Además, agrega la Ley en cuanto a las condiciones de acceso: "El Inder dotará de tierras en modalidad de arrendamiento, como forma prioritaria, en las fincas de su propiedad, para el desarrollo de proyectos productivos o de servicios de impacto comunitario en los territorios rurales, a título individual o en forma colectiva, ya sea a personas físicas o jurídicas", más adelante dispone: "Las condiciones bajo las cuales se dotará a las familias de lotes para vivienda serán establecidos en un reglamento específico que determinará la idoneidad de las familias bajo una normativa adecuada para las condiciones rurales.". Ahora bien, el artículo 69 de la Ley admite el recurso de apelación ante el Tribunal Agrario en los procedimientos administrativos siguientes: a) de revocatoria de asignación y nulidad de títulos de propiedad; b) en otras modalidades de asignación de tierras (entiéndase asignación individual o colectiva, arrendamiento individual o colectivo); c) las resoluciones vinculadas al desarrollo rural. Debe tratarse de la resolución final de la Junta Directiva del Inder.

Todas las anteriores disposiciones guardan relación con lo dispuesto en el Reglamento No. 38975-MAG en cuyo Título II, Capítulo II establece los "Procedimientos Generales para la selección de personas beneficiarias", siendo que el artículo 35 establece expresamente que "...Las personas solicitantes podrán recurrir la decisión de la Junta Directiva para ante el Tribunal Agrario en un plazo máximo de cinco días hábiles después de su notificación, la cual podrá presentarse en cualquier oficina del Instituto, en el plazo mencionado...". Por ello, en este caso particular, resulta evidente que se está impugnando la resolución final del INDER, en cuanto determina la inidoneidad, por aplicación del criterio técnico de "idoneidad inconsistente", a las personas aquí recurrentes, dejándolas por fuera del proyecto productivo que interesa desarrollar. De ahí que el recurso de apelación es procedente, y está bien admitido en este caso particular.

VI.- El rol del Instituto de Desarrollo Rural, en procesos de desarrollo rural territorial. La Estrategia Centroamericana de Desarrollo Rural Territorial (ECADERT) impulsada por el Consejo Agropecuario Centroamericano en virtud del mandato de la Reunión de Presidentes (XXXIII) del 5 de diciembre del 2008, constituyendo para ello un Grupo Intergubernamental de Trabajo. Se trata de un acuerdo jurídico, de los dos órganos principales de decisión política y con potestad normativa del Sistema de Integración Centroamericana. La Estrategia parte de un diseño participativo y dinámico, involucrando a la Sociedad Civil organizada y a los diferentes actores políticos. Busca reconstruir un modelo nacional, haciendo de la política de desarrollo rural una política de Estado, que corresponda también a “una visión compartida” en el ámbito regional. La ECADERT hace un análisis de las principales tendencias de la dinámica regional, poniendo énfasis en las disparidades existentes, las transformaciones del Medio Rural, la Experiencias centroamericanas de Desarrollo Rural, para pasar luego a una conceptualización de la Estrategia, con base en los siguientes pilares:

I.- Instituciones para el Desarrollo Rural Territorial: gestión social de políticas II.- Fortalecimiento de la Economía Rural de los Territorios III.- Sociedad Rural e Identidad Territorial: redes de cooperación en inclusión social IV.- Naturaleza y territorios: acceso y gestión de recursos ambientales.

El marco jurídico, debe ser la base para la implementación de cualquier Estrategia, y especialmente mediante la utilización del instrumento del reglamento comunitario, según las competencias asignadas al Consejo Agropecuario Centroamericano, en los artículos 45 y 55 del Protocolo de Guatemala. El Consejo de Ministros, actuando sectorialmente, o intersectorialmente, con otros Ministerios, está facultado para dictar actos normativos derivados, a saber, resoluciones y reglamentos, mediante los cuales va estableciendo las bases de esa política agrícola regional común. Los recientes esfuerzos del Consejo Agropecuario Centroamericano -CAC-, en el diseño de la PACA, o política agrícola centroamericana ([Telf1]), así como las Estrategias elaboradas, deben ir acompañadas, necesariamente, de instrumentos jurídicos normativos que permitan enfrentar los retos derivados de la seguridad alimentaria, el cambio climático y la sostenibilidad agroambiental, agroalimentaria y de desarrollo rural. Justamente, con el fin de dar respuesta a esa transformación hacia el desarrollo rural territorial e integral, se publica la Ley No. 9036, sancionada el 11 de mayo del 2012, denominada “Ley de Transformación del Instituto de Desarrollo Agrario (IDA) en Instituto de Desarrollo Rural (INDER)”. La misma pretende establecer el desarrollo rural territorial como una política de Estado, a cargo del Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería, como rector del sector agropecuario nacional, y su ejecución se confía al Instituto (artículo 1). Incorpora en sus definiciones las actividades agrarias productivas (agricultura, ganadería, silvicultura, acuacultura, pesca y maricultura) y el criterio de multifuncionalidad, incluyendo los principios constitucionales de fomento a la producción, distribución equitativa de la riqueza, solidaridad y justicia social (artículo 3). En el Titulo II se plantea la transformación institucional del IDA en INDER, fijando su régimen patrimonial y financiero (artículos 14 al 37), pero además se incluyen normas sustantivas para la creación de un Fondo de Tierras, los sistemas de dotación, mediante arrendamiento o asignación, individual y colectiva, en función de los proyectos productivos o de servicios para el desarrollo rural territorial (artículos 38 al 72). Igualmente, se crea un Fondo de Desarrollo rural, regulándose el instituto del crédito rural (artículos 73-77). Se establece en sus disposiciones finales y transitorias, la convalidación y saneamiento del régimen de la propiedad agraria adjudicada. Finalmente, se otorga la competencia de los conflictos agrarios a la Jurisdicción agraria, o a la contencioso-administrativa cuando corresponda.

VII.- Sobre los criterios de calificación fijados en la Ley y su reglamento.- Dispone el artículo 69 de la Ley del Instituto de Desarrollo Rural, que el recurso de apelación debe resolverse conforme a los principios de equidad, uso racional, justicia social y solidaridad previstos en el artículo 69 y 74 de la Constitución Política. Se trata, indudablemente, de sumar dichos principios-valores, a los parámetros objetivos que fija el mismo ordenamiento, para garantizar el desarrollo del principio de la función social de la propiedad, en particular el "acceso" a la propiedad agraria (sea mediante asignación o mediante arrendamiento), a todas aquellas personas que teniendo capacidad técnica adecuada (experiencia en agricultura) habitualidad y continuidad, en el desarrollo de labores agrícolas, carecen, sin embargo, de los medios de producción idóneos para su desarrollo rural sostenible. La Ley en su parte general (Título I, sobre desarrollo rural territorial), establece algunas definiciones y elementos que es necesario para el Tribunal tomar en consideración. En efecto, el artículo 3 define las economías familiares rurales como: "Unidades económicas o empresas que funcionan de forma autogestionaria por la familia, con acceso a la tierra o no y al área rural en general. Se comportan como empresas framiliares puesto que la familia constituye la reserva de mano de obra y, al mismo tiempo, una unidad de consumo. Por la posibilidad de satisfacer necesidades de consumo con su propia producción, combinan producción de subsistencia y de mercado...En esta definición se incluyen a los microproductores". Esta definición es sumamente importante porque involucra los conceptos teóricos de "empresa" familiar y de "microproductores", siendo una de sus características esenciales la habitualidad y continuidad en el ejercicio de las labores agrarias (conocimientos de buena técnica agraria), para el sustento propio y de su familia, o bien para una proyección al mercado. Definición que, sin duda, se asocia también a lo dispuesto en el inciso ñ) del mismo artículo 3 que define a los pequeños y medianos productores agropecuarios rurales, utilizando el calificativo de unidades económicas de carácter empresarial. De ahí que el INDER, para el cumplimiento de la función social de la propiedad (principio contenido en el artículo 4 de la Ley), debe también crear espacios de participación y desarrollo humano, mediante la identificación de talentos humanos, o bien mediante la generación de capacidades para permitir el adecuado desarrollo de los procesos productivos que permitan un desarrollo rural integral. Por su parte, el reglamento en su título II, Capítulo II fija el "Procedimientos Generales para la selección de personas beneficiarias", haciendo remisión a lo dispuesto en el artículo 2 en relación al artículo 46 inciso c) de la Ley 9036, con lo cual ya se mencionaron los conceptos de microempresario y pequeño productor, lo cual debe determinarse bajo criterios técnicos, considerando además que debe existir, conforme al inciso d) del artículo 46 un "Compromiso de mantener la tierra en uso y explotarla en forma personal, de acuerdo con proyectos que justificaron la asignación. Se entenderá como arrendataria o asignataria la persona que demuestre experiencia en proyuectos productivos, no tenga tierras o las posea en forma insujficiente, asuma el compromiso de mantener en uso la tierra. Y el reglamento, en el artículo 28 reitera y amplía las calificaciones sujetivas así: a) Micro productor y productora: Desarrolla o proyecta desarrollar una actividad productiva para autoconsumo y venta de excedentes en forma esporádica o continua en el mercado, aplica o no una transformación mínima al producto que genera. Dispone únicamente de la mano de obra familiar, además los ingresos brutos mensuales del núcleo familiar que genere, no deberán ser superiores al equivalente de tres salarios mínimos, de un trabjador no calificado. b) Pequeño productor o productora: Desarrolla o proyecta desarrollar una actividad productiva en forma constante. Comercializa la mayor parte de la producción con o sin transformación, al mercado nacional. Tiene una participación creciente en el mercado. utiliza mano de obra familiar, pero contrata mano de obra para actividades específicas, además los ingresos bruos mensuales que genera no deberán ser superiores al equivalente de cinco salarios mínimos de un trabajador no calificado." Para aplicar a la idoneidad el Inder realiza un estudio técnico amplio, cuyos términos y requisitos están contemplados en los artículos 29 al 34, debiendo el técnico encargado hacer las indagaciones que considere necesarias para verificar la información que suministran los interesados. De ahí que el denominado "INFORME RESOLUTORIO DE IDONEIDAD" aplicable a las personas físicas, contempla el Territorio, el Proyecto, el análisis económico y de arraigo del solicitante, el análisis social y técnico, y una recomendación en cuando a la calificación de su "idoneidad", la cual se basa en los rangos que establece el artículo 31 del Reglamento, en estricto orden de prelación (de mayor a menor), según la escala siguiente: Altamente idóneo (90 a 100), Moderada idoneidad (80 a 89), Baja idoneidad (60 a 79) e Idoneidad inconsistente (0 a 59), siendo que tienen preferencia en su designación las personas altamente idóneas y moderadamente idóneas, pero aún las que se consideran de baja idoneidad pueden tener posibilidades, porque en tal caso, el artículo 32 indica que "..debe brindársele el apoyo técnico y la capacitación requerida por parte de los auspiciadores del proyecto con la finalidad de contribuir al proceso de generación de capacidades humanas... de manera que le permita desarrollar el proyecto de manera eficaz y eficiente".

VIII.- La política de desarrollo rural territorial, como política de Estado.- La Ley Inder, fija en el Capítulo II, la política de desarrollo rural territorial como una política pública, es decir, como política de Estado (artículos 5 a 8). Para hacer efectiva dicha política, El Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería, a través de la Secretaria Ejecutiva de Planificación del Sector Agropecuario (incluido el agroalimentario) y el Instituto de Desarrollo Rural, lanzaron la "Política de Estado para el Desarrollo Rural Territorial Costarricense (PEDRT)" [Telf2] de setiembre del año 2015. Ella tiene como visión la creación de territorios rurales integrados que permitan mejorar el nivel de vida de la población en los procesos de desarrollo, y como objetivos fomentar el desarrollo inclusivo en los territorios rurales de las personas más necesitadas, generando procesos de capacitación y oportunidades, a fin de reducir la desigualdad y la inequidad social. En lo que interesa para este caso concreto, y en consonancia con lo indicado en el considerando anterior, "...Se conceptualiza como la población objetivo o destinataria de los bienes y servicios de los planes, programas y proyectos que se deriven de la política, las personas físicas y jurídicas, integradas a los procesos de desarrollo rural territorial, conforme a la siguiente descripción: 1. Personas físicas: Se incluyen los siguientes tipos: productores y productoras; productores y productoras de la micro, pequeña y mediana empresa y personas físicas no generadoras de ingresos. Se caracterizan del modo siguiente: Productores y productoras: Se encuentran al frente de las denominadas economías familiares rurales. Son unidades económicas que funcionan de forma autogestionaria por la familia, con acceso a la tierra o no en el área rural. Se comportan como emprendimientos familiares puesto que la familia constituye la reserva de mano de obra y, al mismo tiempo, es una unidad de consumo. Por la posibilidad de satisfacer necesidades de consumo con su propia producción, combinan producción de subsistencia y de mercado. Productores y productoras (micro, pequeño y mediano): Personas que desarrollan unidades económicas de carácter empresarial, en las cuales la participación de la familia no es definitiva. La mayor parte de su producción está destinada al mercado y utilizan en forma regular mano de obra contratada. Personas físicas no generadoras de ingresos. Son las personas que no cuentan con una actividad específica que genere ingresos o de ingresos no reconocidos (ejemplo trabajadoras del hogar, estudiantes, personas desempleadas, entre otras). Personas con discapacidad, adultos mayores, mujeres, jóvenes, grupos étnicos, pueblos originarios. Personas que tradicionalmente han sido invisibilizadas y excluidas para el acceso a los bienes y servicios del Estado. 2. Personas jurídicas: Organizaciones de diferente naturaleza del medio rural, entre ellas:

Organizaciones que se dedican a actividades productivas del medio rural, que cuentan con personería jurídica. Organizaciones que se dedican a actividades diversas, integradas por personas con discapacidad, personas adultas mayores, mujeres, jóvenes, gobiernos de pueblos originarios y grupos étnicos que cuentan con personería jurídica. Organizaciones constituidas por personas egresadas de colegios técnicos-profesionales y personas egresadas universitarias que cuenten con personería jurídica vigente. Micro, pequeña, y mediana empresa, unidades económicas de carácter empresarial, la mayor parte de su producción está destinada al mercado y utilizan en forma regular mano de obra contratada.Organizaciones Comunales con personería jurídica que tienen el propósito de propiciar el desarrollo integral de su entorno y mejorar las condiciones de vida de su comunidad. Gobiernos locales: Lo constituyen las municipalidades, con cobertura cantonal y los Consejos de Distrito, cuando corresponda. Tienen autonomía política, económica y administrativa en los asuntos de su competencia. Instituciones públicas, con los que se suscriben convenios y alianzas estratégicas. En el marco de la Política se considera estratégica la articulación del sector público con el privado, para contribuir a la generación de ingresos mediante la ejecución de iniciativas de producción en los territorios..." Por otra parte, para la concreción de dicha política, se toma en consideración la creación de Territorios rurales, y parte de todo un proceso de planificación estratégica, que va desde el ámbito local (consejos locales y municipales), a lo territorial (planes de desarrollo rural territorial aprobados por los Consejos Territoriales), luego a lo Regional (planes regionales de desarrollo rural y Consejos Regionales) para finalizar su implementación a nivel Nacional. Dentro de todo ese proceso de planificación, como se ha dicho, son los consejos locales y territoriales, los que proponen, entre otras cosas, la implementación de obras, o bien de proyectos productivos que puedan ser útiles para la comunidad rural, y para cuya ejecución, lógicamente se requiere hacer todo un proceso selectivo a fin de analizar los requisitos técnicos y jurídicos exigidos por la Ley y su reglamento, a fin de determinar cuáles serían las personas más idóneas - criterio técnico- y, por que no las más necesitadas -criterio de equidad- pero con conocimiento y capacidad productiva.

IX.- Análisis del caso concreto.- Dentro del contexto anteriormente descrito, y respaldado por una política de desarrollo rural territorial, es que el INDER, inicia los estudios de "idoneidad", practicado a diferentes personas físicas, para integrar el Grupo de Productores de Fresa Vara Blanca, denominado MIGVARAB-Gamaliel, para el desarrollo del proyecto Productivo denominado: "Producción de Fresas en Ambiente Protegido" del territorio Santa Bárbara, Barva, San Isidro, San Rafael Vara Blanca, y que está aprobado por la Dirección de Desarrollo. En el caso particular, el Tribunal ha considerado las respuestas brindadas por los interesados en cuanto a conocimiento experiencia anterior, conocimiento técnico de ambientes protegidos (invernaderos), capacitación y conocimiento del proyecto, sin embargo, se desprende que desde hace varios años ambos solicitantes están desvinculados de este tipo de actividad , y se han dedicado a otras labores (lechería y hotelería). Es decir, no han tenido continuidad o habitualidad en el cultivo de fresas. En el informe final se concluye que no tienen trayectoria, y les falta conocimientos y capacidades en relación con el cultivo de fresa en ambiente protegido. En efecto, cuando se les pregunta sobre el desarrollo de la actividad, sus respuestas son muy generales e imprecisas (ver folios 40 y 41), pues no explican cómo es que se hace dicha producción o qué se requiere saber sobre producción en ambientes protegidos, aunque sí están dispuestos a recibir capacitación. En razón de lo anterior, este Tribunal, conociendo como jerárquico impropio del Instituto de Desarrollo Rural, considera que el Acuerdo de la Junta Directiva impugnado, a saber el artículo 56, de la sesión ordinaria No. 40-2015 del 02 de noviembre del 2015 se ajusta a los criterios jurídicos, técnicos y de prelación, dispuestos en los artículos 46 de la Ley Inder y 35 del Reglamento, en el sentido de que se concluye que los solicitantes no presentan conocimientos afines al proyecto y se desempeñan en otras actividades. De modo que se les califica con "idoneidad incosistente" con el proyecto que se quiere desarrollar. En efecto, no se demuestra en las preguntas que se les plantearon una experiencia concreta, y tampoco presentaron prueba mediante la cual puedan justificar lo alegado en el recurso de apelación, en el sentido de que han trabajado en el pasado en la producción y mantenimiento de fresa. También se ha respetado el principio de equidad, justicia social y solidaridad, pues se les ha dado la oportunidad de participar como interesados en el proyecto, pero los parámetros de calificación no les ha favorecido, al existir criterios de "prelación", es decir, de prioridad, para aquellos personas que sí demuestran una idoneidad alta o moderada, o incluso baja idoneidad con posibilidad de capacitación técnica.

X.- De conformidad con lo expuesto, no existiendo razones, de hecho o de derecho, para variar lo resuelto, lo procedente es confirmar la resolución administrativa del INDER.”