The Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and Forestry announced the implementation of a series of strategic measures aimed at milk production and the dairy industry. They are intended to reduce production costs, boost competitiveness and contribute to the sustainability of the dairy sector.
 
"Measures directed to products of certified origin and the Azores Brand are clearly strategies for the promotion, innovation and creation of new products that meet market needs and consumers' preferences, thereby generating more income and encouraging the rise of milk prices paid to producers." These initiatives were defended by the Regional Secretariat in a response to a request submitted by the Social Democratic Party on the Government's intervention in the dairy sector of Terceira.
 
The Regional Secretariat added that the Azorean Milk and Dairy Centre (CALL) is conducting the process for the recognition of the quality of Azorean butter, through PGI designation, and the conclusion of the Strategy Plan for Azorean Dairy Products, which will boost production and provide an outlet for dairy products by intensifying exports. In addition, CALL will carry out promotional activities in Canada and conclude a comparative study of Azorean milk with milk from different origin.
 
The Government will also launch a new programme to support the modernisation of agriculture and forests, PROAMAF +, which will co-finance investment projects of up to 10 thousand Euros. In turn, the Young Farmers programme, which will facilitate the access of young people to the agricultural sector, the Young Farmers' Training Support Programme and the i9AGRI, which will co-finance the introduction of innovative practices on farms, are other programmes to be launched soon.
 
This year, the investment in agricultural roads, water supply and power supply to farms increased 9% as well as the maintenance of training and technical support to producers, always promoting good practices in terms of crop management, health control, quality and financial management. These measures have a significant impact on reducing production costs and increasing the competitiveness of farms.
 
In the current legislative period, the Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and Forestry has held several meetings with producers' organisations, cooperatives and dairy industries operating in the Azores in order to have the best perception and evaluate the potentialities, needs and challenges of the sector on each island.
 
In addition to Unicol and Pronicol, the Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry, João Ponte, has already met with the board of Lactogal, the main shareholder of Pronicol, having expressed the concern of the entire sector regarding the need to comply with production limits.
 
The limits imposed on production are related to production figures dating back to 2015, which has nothing to do with the current reality of various producers. In this regard, the government official considered that businesses and investments in the sector should continue and, for that reason, these limits should be suspended or, least, updated.
 
João Ponte also called the attention of Lactogal for the importance of Pronicol seizing the potential arising from the added value generated by the Azorean origin of its products. This strategy has begun to produce results as evidenced by the production of Milhafre Cheese, recently distinguished and already marketed throughout the country, or the production and sale of Azorean organic milk, which is estimated to take place in the short term.
 
Regarding the "Access to Markets" Measure under Competir+, which subsidises costs incurred on the export of products, the Regional Government stated that financial support amounting 3.5 million Euros has been approved for the export sector of Terceira for the 2016-2020 period; 65% concern exports of dairy products.
 
As for the "Promotion of Exports" Measure, the Government has recently approved a project aimed at dairy products from Terceira, which corresponds to an investment over 519 thousand Euros and a contribution of approximately 289 thousand Euros.
 
It is also important to mention the relevance of investments under the Rural Development Programmes with the aim of boosting the competitiveness of the dairy industry. In the case of Terceira Island, these investments have increased, since 2007, the volume of processed milk by 23.2% and the turnover of the island's main dairy industry by 24.5%, from 50.7 million to 63.2 million Euros.