The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry defended in Horta that the 2018 Plan and Budget for this sector enables "more growth and more income" for farmers.
 
"The Plan responds with ambition to the challenges of the sector, although we know that our efforts in agriculture are always an unfinished task," said João Ponte. He spoke at the Legislative Assembly under the discussion of the Plan and Budget proposals for 2018.
 
Agriculture and Forestry represent an investment of 170 million Euros in the proposed Plan for next year, about 22.6% of the overall public investment planned for the Region.
 
João Ponte considered that the Investment Plan for 2018 is "credible, ambitious and attentive to the challenges of the sector for this new time of sustainable growth," always keeping "an open dialogue and a transparent exchange of ideas with our partners."
 
The reduction in the apportionment of the slaughter premium from 18% to 10%, representing a regional aid of 1.4 million Euros, the revision of the POSEI proposal for 2018 and the Region's proposal for the future post-2020 CAP received important contributions from our partners. According to João Ponte, they are examples of the success work of dialogue and consultation with the Azores Agricultural Federation.
 
The Regional Secretary announced the implementation of the Young Farmer programme next year, which aims to facilitate the entry of more people in the sector. For the government official, this is "the best guarantee that agriculture has a future in the Azores." We are expecting the approval of 100 projects for first young farmers' installations until the end of 2017.
 
As for the milk sector, João Ponte stated the 10.2% increase in the price paid to producers registered last year and the latest indicators are "a sign of confidence and hope." In this regard, we expected that the difference of 2.4 cents in the price of milk paid to Azorean producers, compared to Mainland Portugal, and of 8.6 cents, compared to Europe, may be mitigated so that milk production remains attractive and profitable for farmers."
 
According to João Ponte, "it is fundamental to continue the effort to add value to the milk of excellence produced by our farmers" by investing in its innovation and promotion to conquer new markets. The industry will have to respond to this challenge because "only then it will be possible to boost the profitability of the entire milk industry."
 
In his speech, the Regional Secretary assured that the Government will pay special attention to the "Azorean Milk and Dairy Centre" in 2018, either through the promotion of studies or through the continuous monitoring of markets. We intend to render the milk sector "stronger and profitable, with a fair distribution of value through the whole chain."
 
Regarding the meat sector, the government official announced that the establishment of the Regional Strategy Centre for Azores Meat will be formalised. This entity will congregate the powers of the Region, the Azores Agricultural Federation and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Azores with the mission of finding and improving mechanisms to promote, enhance, advise and analyse national and international markets. Its primary purpose is to strengthen the meat industry, which is growing moderately.
 
As for the regional slaughter network, the new slaughterhouses of Faial and Graciosa will be operational by next year. The Government will also move forward with the conclusion works of the slaughterhouses of Terceira and São Miguel, providing them with increased cold storage capacity and better operating conditions.
 
"These works amounting to 15 million Euros, combined with the certification of slaughterhouses, fulfil the needs of farmers, guaranteeing conditions of excellence for the further growth of the meat industry. They will create competitive advantages in food safety and quality, with a view to enhancing the promotion of Azores meat in national and international markets," said João Ponte.
 
The Government will invest five million Euros in order to continue the work carried out in the Region in terms of animal health, food safety, genetic enhancement, animal welfare, plant health and crop protection, since these are "determinant factors for the Region's competitiveness."
 
João Ponte also pointed out that the Plan will continue to boost the income and competitiveness of farms through a support scheme to reduce costs with agricultural activity. It will allocate three million Euros under the PROAMAF, SAFIAGRI III and AGROCRÉDITO programmes and increasing the regional component of POSEI by 3.7 million Euros.
 
In order to improve the liquidity in the treasury of farms, João Ponte confirmed that the Regional Government will guarantee the means to anticipate the payment of the premium to milk producers in 2018, made by the industry and agricultural associations, amounting to 12 million Euros.
 
The Regional Secretary reiterated his confidence in the progress made. However, we should be aware that "there is always more to do" to improve the income of farmers and reinforce the sustainability of agriculture in an insular and outermost region such as the Azores, where there are constraints in terms of climate, geography, size and distance from markets.