IROA in charge of co-ordinating and managing incentives for the purchase of agricultural land
The Regional Government of the Azores has entrusted the anonymous society of public funds IROA, SA, with the co-ordination and management of the system of incentives for the purchase of agricultural land (RICTA). The Government regards this as a "vital instrument" to the restructuring of Azorean agriculture and to the preservation of the contiguity of the farms of the region.
There are two policies to insure the realisation of this aim: attribution of subsidies to help farmers deal with interest rate hikes and the provision of free funds to be used in the acquisition of contiguous portions of agricultural land. With these measures, the RICTA intends to stimulate the acquisition of agricultural land and insure that acquired lands are contiguous, thus diminishing production costs and increasing gains in income.
In order to implement the system, IROA,SA, will sign protocols with financial institutions that represent those that are interesting in accessing the funds made available by the Regional Government.
The decision of the Government of Carlos César to choose IROA as the entity that manages this system of incentives was due to the fact that this institution plays a central role in the structuring of the agricultural sector in the Azores.