The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry announced on São Miguel that all the proposals submitted by the Azores for amendments to POSEI 2019 have been approved by the European Commission. This is an incredibly positive decision that will allow us to continue adjusting aid to the growth dynamics and the increasing sustainability of the agricultural sector in the Region.
 
"The Azorean Government was informed yesterday that the European Commission has approved the proposals submitted by the Region for amendments to POSEI 2019.  This a motive for congratulation not only for this victory, but also for the consecutive victories we have achieved for Azorean farmers with the approval of the proposals presented in 2017 and 2018," said João Ponte. Once again, the Azorean proposals included a series of contributions from industry partners, namely the Azores Agricultural Federation.
 
João Ponte spoke at the end of a meeting with the President of the Azores Agricultural Federation to analyse the agricultural year that is ending, and the new challenges foreseen for 2019.
 
"POSEI is an extremely important for the Azores insofar as it grants crucial aid for farmers to reduce the high production costs of agriculture in the Azores compared to other European regions and even to Mainland Portugal," stressed João Ponte. Under this programme, there is an estimated funding of 70.3 million Euros from the European Union for 2019, plus 4.8 million Euros from the regional budget.
 
The Regional Secretary pointed out, among the main changes to enter into effect on January 1, the aid to inter-island transport of young bovine animals, namely to producers from Santa Maria, Graciosa, Flores and Corvo exporting animals for slaughter on São Miguel and Terceira, the amount of aid being stipulated at 40 Euros per head.
 
"This measure will increase the number of animals slaughtered in the Region and exported in carcass to Mainland Portugal," said the Regional Secretary.
 
The new support measures include the aid to the packaging of Proteas, which will be granted based on the number of Proteas stems sold for export, while the aid for banana production will be paid in two semesters (December and June).
 
Moreover, the support for the production of organic milk has been increased by 23 Euros per tonne and the retention period of animals reduces from four to three months. It includes the aid for suckling cows, dairy cows, sheep and goats. In the case of the premium for milk producers, the first 150 000 litres of milk produced by all dairy farms shall be exempt from apportionment.
 
João Ponte also mentioned a 20% increase in aid to approved producers in organic production or in the conversion period with the aim of stimulating more producers to join this production mode.
 
As for the price of milk, despite the need to continue efforts to bring the amounts paid to Azorean producers closer to national producers, the average price paid to regional milk producers surpassed the 30 cent litre barrier in November.
 
"After 43 consecutive months, the price of milk paid to Azorean production exceeded the 30 cent litre barrier, which encourages us to hope for the future. It is important to maintain the price growth trend in order to improve producers' income," João Ponte said, recognising different realities within each island and even in terms of production conditions.
 
The Secretary for Agriculture defended that the increase in the price of milk depends on all industry players, but it is up to the industry to invest in new products and new markets that are capable of improving production.
 
Regarding the meat sector, the government official considered that 2018 was a positive year. There were significant investments in the regional slaughter network and some of them will continue throughout 2019, which is the case of Graciosa Slaughterhouse. In addition, three slaughterhouses (Terceira, Santa Maria and Pico) were certified, an effort that will be maintained next year.
 
"As the meeting, the government official made the commitment to presenting the investment plan of São Miguel Slaughterhouse for the next five years by the end of January 2019, given its importance in the regional slaughter network, the need for certification, and the response to market demands," said João Ponte. In this regard, he added that meat exports grew 16% and the number of slaughters in the Region grew 10% in the first eleven months of 2018.
 
This meeting also addressed the drought that hit the Azores this year. It is certain that the Regional Government and the Azores Agricultural Federation will meet again in early 2019 to assess the need to take measures on the support for cattle food.