Powers:
The functions of the Institute for Food and Agricultural Markets (IAMA) are:
a) Regulate the regional market of agro-food products, through intervention operations;
b) Support the implementation of economic and technology policy measures related to agro-food production and processing, contributing to the technological improvement of the products and sub-products of livestock farming and the subsequent industrial processing;
c) Support the definition and implementation of food and food quality policy, namely where concerning the creation of legislation and fostering and controlling products for human and animal consumption;
d) Exercise all powers relative to the products of its area of activity that are delegated in its office in the region by national action bodies.
In order to carry out its mission, IAMA is especially responsible for:
a) Monitoring developments in agricultural and livestock markets in the Azores, up to the first processing stage;
b) Steering, regulating and organising those markets, through the management and application of the mechanisms and instruments envisaged in the respective market organisations;
c) Collaborating with central administration bodies that ensure the domestic application of all guidance, regulatory and organisational instruments for agricultural markets, as established by national and common market organisations;
d) Ensuring contacts with the relevant domestic and Community bodies in relation to common agricultural policy, within their scope of action;
e) Following the evolution of regional, domestic and Community legislative and statistical frameworks relative to the matters under its jurisdiction, and proposing, whenever necessary, their adaptation to the region's reality;
f) Proposing economic, technological and industrial policy measures concerning agro-food trade and industry;
g) Carrying out the task of supervising slaughterhouses, poultry slaughter centres, egg classification centres, milk treatment plants, fruit stations and other wholesale distribution infrastructures for agricultural goods belonging to private entities, controlling the quality of the services provided;
h) Controlling the quality of agricultural products, from production up to the first processing stage;
i) Collaborating in nationwide action in the field of food policy and food quality, particularly in relation to the study and preparation of legal regulations appropriate to the control of products intended for human and animal consumption;
j) Promoting the quality of agricultural products up to the first stage of industrial processing as well as improving the quality of industrial, packaging, storage, transport and sale establishments in that circuit stage;
l) Issuing certificates of quality and authenticity for agricultural products and attribute quality marks;
m) Issuing opinions relative to the quality and quantity of food products to be imported into the region and collaborating with the regional office of the Central Board of Customs, as regards actively and passively fostering improvement, in regard to the products in its intervention area.
IAMA's bodies are:
a) Board, composed of three members - one chairman and two voting members;
b) Advisory Council.
IAMA has the following departments to implement its mission:
a) Design and support services:
· Administrative Services Division
· Technical Office
· Management and Organisation Directorate
b) Operational services:
· Agricultural Markets Directorate
· Quality Directorate
c) External services:
· São Miguel Slaughterhouse
· São Miguel Milk Classification Division
· Terceira and Faial Offices
Board of IAMA
The Board of IAMA is responsible for:
a) Managing IAMA's services and steering them in the performance of their duties;
b) Managing IAMA in conformity with approved plans and programmes;
c) Drawing up multi-year and annual activity plans, the budget and the accounting statements and submitting them for approval;
d) Proposing and implementing the measures deemed necessary for IAMA to achieve its mission;
e) Authorising expenditure within the limits established in law.
Advisory Council
The Advisory Council is responsible for providing its opinion on:
a) IAMA's activity plans;
b) The situation of the agro-food product market;
c) Any other issues submitted by the chair for its appraisal.
The Advisory Council is composed of:
a) The Chairman of the Board, who holds the chair;
b) The Regional Director of Agricultural Development;
c) The Director of the Planning Office of the Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and Fishing;
d) A representative of the Regional Secretariat for the Economy;
e) Three representatives of farmers' associations;
f) Two representatives of the production cooperative sector;
g) A representative of the dairy products industry;
h) A representative of the meat processing industry;
i) A representative of the horticultural and fruit processing industry;
j) A representative of the Azores Chamber of Commerce and Industry;
l) A representative of the trade unions operating in the agro-food sector.
Administrative Services Division
The Administrative Services Division is responsible for:
a) Drawing up the records of all personnel and ensuring these are kept up to date;
b) Promoting the recruitment, selection, promotion, training and vocational improvement and carrying out all clerical procedures relating to those operations;
c) Organising retirement and dismissal processes;
d) Executing all clerical procedures relating to the provision and processing of wages, salaries and other benefits as well as all administrative operations concerning social welfare contributions and benefits, namely those of ADSE;
e) Ensuring the management of all the property assigned to IAMA, guaranteeing upkeep and maintenance;
f) Organising and ensuring that inventories and the registration of assets are kept updated;
g) Fostering the purchase of machinery and equipment, transport material, furniture and all other equipment required by all the bodies and divisions of IAMA, organising the public or private tendering procedures or direct contracting and purchase of such goods and services;
h) Executing all tasks concerning the processing of general clerical procedures, the registration and classification of incoming and outgoing documentation and controlling the circulation of documents by support services;
i) Organising the general archive and ensuring it is kept up to date;
j) Providing typing and general administrative support to head office-based divisions;
l) Guaranteeing public assistance and responding to information requests.
The Administrative Services Division encompasses the:
a) Personnel Section;
b) Property and General Issues Section.
Technical Office
The Technical Office is the study, coordination and support body, which is responsible for providing technical counsel to IAMA's departments and bodies for the exercise of their respective duties.
The Technical Office includes the:
a) Technical Support Department;
b) Information and Documentation Department.
Technical Support Department
The Technical Support Department is responsible for:
a) Drawing up programmes, projects, studies and opinions on subjects submitted for its appraisal;
b) Collaborating in the preparation of annual and multi-year activity plans for IAMA;
c) Supporting the institutions and departments of IAMA in all areas;
d) Coordinating any necessary studies for the application of measures and legal regulations in the areas under the jurisdiction of IAMA.
Information and Documentation Department
The Information and Documentation Department is responsible for:
a) Collecting, processing and periodically publishing the prices of agricultural products and similar products, relative to selected markets or commercial agents;
b) Compiling and statistically recording annual import and export figures of agricultural products of recognised regional interest and the results of productive, distribution and commercial activities as concerns agro-food products;
c) Monitoring the development of the regional agricultural products market and trends in domestic and EU markets of the same sector;
d) Collating the regulations applicable to agro-food markets and organising their dissemination;
e) Fostering the provision of opinion and information from production and first-stage processing associations;
f) Ensuring the technical handling of bibliographical items and their dissemination within the organisation;
g) Publishing periodic or one-off material on matters within the scope of action of IAMA;
h) Ensuring the distribution and sale of publications;
i) Filing all technical and legislative documentation concerning the activities of IAMA and keep the respective files updated.
Management and Organisation Directorate
The Management and Organisation Directorate provides operational support in the field of organisation, budget management, drafting accounting statements and processing accounts.
The Management and Organisation Directorate includes the:
a) Financial Management Department;
b) IT Centre.
Financial Management Department
The Financial Management Department is responsible for:
a) Collating all data relative to income and expenditures, for drawing up regular and supplementary budgets;
b) Controlling budget implementation;
c) Ensuring the performance of all administrative procedures concerning revenue collection, the requisition of funds allocated to IAMA in the Azores Autonomous Region Budget and the transfer of budgetary funds;
d) Preparing the data relative to budget control and submitting it to the Regional Directorate for the Budget and Accounting as well as the data necessary for preparing the annual management account and respective report;
e) Processing and verifying all income and expenditure documents and record the accounts in the accounting books;
f) Keeping the archive of all the management documentation organised and up to date;
g) Collecting revenue due to IAMA and making the authorised and processed payments;
h) Entering all accounts in the treasury books;
i) Periodically draw up the balance sheet to ensure accounting accuracy.
The Financial Management Department encompasses the:
a) Budget and Accounting Section;
b) Treasury.
IT Centre
The IT Centre is responsible for:
a) Ensuring the operational connection between the departments and bodies using IT equipment;
b) Coordinating data planning and processing;
c) Carrying out studies aimed at optimising the use of IT equipment, based on the available resources;
d) Collaborating in the training of IT personnel;
e) Organising and performing IT users' training;
f) Coordinating studies and logical and functional analyses of IT solutions to be implemented;
g) Performing the study of the technical characteristics of the IT equipment and logic supports to be used;
h) Ensuring the quality control of data and results.
Agricultural Markets Directorate
The Agricultural Markets Directorate organises, monitors and studies the domestic and EU agricultural products markets and it provides guidance, regulation and the organisation of those markets in a regional context.
The Agricultural Markets Directorate contains the:
a) Milk and Dairy Products Department;
b) Meat and Other Animal Products Department;
c) Plant Products Department.
The abovementioned departments are responsible, in their respective areas, for:
a) Monitoring and analysing the functioning and evolution of the regional markets of their respective products, advancing measures and action deemed necessary for the organisation, guidance and regulation of those areas;
b) Providing regional representation in the management bodies and domestic working parties on the markets of their respective products and taking part in meetings dealing with matters within their area of activity, in Portugal or abroad;
c) Monitoring and analysing the functioning of EU, international and national markets, proposing, where required, the appropriate measures for the solid integration of the regional market;
d) Performing the control operations necessary for the application of intervention measures in the market;
e) Systematically collaborating in the development of information systems for markets and respective products, through liaison with other entities or departments;
f) Collaborating in drawing up expenditure budgets arising from the implementation of the price scheme and safeguards envisaged in regional and EC framework regulations.
Quality Directorate
The Quality Directorate is responsible for the quality of agricultural products.
The Quality Directorate comprises the:
a) Animal Products Quality Department;
b) Plant Products Quality Department.
Animal and Plant Products Quality Departments
The Animal and Plant Products Quality Departments are responsible, in their respective intervention areas, for:
a) Collaborating in appropriate studies aimed at defining food and nutritional policy;
b) Collaborating in the preparation of technical rules and regulations relative to products for human and animal consumption and their respective packaging and marking;
c) Verifying compliance with quality rules and regulations for products, and the respective raw materials, ingredients and additives;
d) Fostering good practices regarding packaging, marking and labelling;
e) Undertaking interventions to foster quality among agricultural products, as well as the improvement of quality in first-stage processing, packaging, storage, transport and retail industrial establishments in that circuit stage;
f) Performing the necessary controls for the issue of certificates of quality and authenticity for agricultural products and attribute quality marks;
g) Issuing opinions relative to the quality and quantity of food products to be imported into the region;
h) Collaborating with the regional office of the Central Board of Customs, as regards actively and passively fostering improvement in regard to the products in its intervention area.
São Miguel Slaughterhouse
São Miguel Slaughterhouse covers all the slaughterhouses existing on the islands of São Miguel and Santa Maria.
Milk Classification Division
The Milk Classification Division is responsible for performing all activities concerning the classification of milk at the producer, based on its hygienic quality and composition, in particular:
a) Collecting individual samples at the locations and under the conditions established by the directorate;
b) Performing all laboratory tests on the collected milk, in accordance with legislation in force, and periodically drawing up classification lists;
c) Providing the competent entities with the results of the classification;
d) Drawing up activity reports.
Local offices
Local offices are generally responsible for ensuring the imposition of IAMA's authority and implementation of its duties and activities on the islands coming under their jurisdiction.
Terceira Office
The Terceira Office covers the islands of Terceira, São Jorge and Graciosa.
The Terceira Office encompasses:
a) The slaughterhouses existing on the islands under its jurisdiction;
b) The Terceira Milk Classification Division (SERCLAT).
Faial Office
The Faial Office covers the islands of Faial, Pico, Flores and Corvo and encompasses the slaughterhouses existing on those islands.