The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Environment stated today on Pico that the new Rural Development Programme -PRORURAL + should be approved in the coming weeks. It will provide financial support to the expansion and improvement project for the Pico Wine Cellar Cooperative, which deserves the support of the Regional Government.

Speaking to journalists at the end of a meeting that was also attended by the Regional Wine Commission of the Azores, Luís Neto Viveiros stressed that the "Cooperative has new projects intended to improve its facilities as well as to boost its response capacity in order to meet the needs of its members. For this reason, the financial support measures are readily available."

During the meeting, the Regional also assured the provision of technical support to the Cooperative and its members.

According to Luís Neto Viveiros, "the Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and the Environment is available, through local agrarian services or other initiatives to be jointly developed with the Cooperative, to continue implementing cutting-edge production systems" in terms of procedures and techniques as well as overcoming the constraints arising from this activity , such as those caused by bad weather conditions.

As the government official revealed, "it is important to note that the Cooperative produces various wine products and has managed to establish a brand with significant relevance in the market. Besides the quality of products, we should also stress its ability to place them in the market."