The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry conveyed his belief that 2018 will be a year of increased projection of agriculture, a year of recovery of farmers' income and a year of enhanced visibility of Azorean products, as a result of joint efforts undertaken with industry partners.
 
"I hope that 2018 will further project the sector, improve the recovery of farmers' income, starting with the increase in the price of milk paid by the industry to farmers," said João Ponte. He spoke at the end of a meeting with the Board of Santo Antão Agricultural Cooperative in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo.
 
João Ponte stressed that 2018 will be a year of challenges, pointing out that the industry will continue to invest in the promotion of milk so that the price of milk paid to regional producers may be even closer to that in force in Mainland Portugal and in Europe.
 
"The Regional Government is responsible for, among other challenges, carrying out the investments set out in the Plan, such as the completion of the regional slaughter network, the improvement of agricultural infrastructures (roads, water and electricity supply). Moreover, the Government should promote the actions developed by the Azorean Milk and Dairy Centre (CALL) and implement the Regional Strategy Centre for Azores Meat (CERCA)," said the government official. In this context, he added that his department is responsible for the improvement of response to investment projects submitted under ProRural +.
 
According to the Regional Secretary, all these measure aim to ensure the sustainability of the sector, raise the price of milk and reduce costs related to the activity.
 
With regard to cooperatives, João Ponte highlighted the role these institutions have played in favour of the development of agriculture in the Azores, "for the services they provide and for the contribution they make to improving farmers' income. The latter has been achieved through a pricing policy that meets the "expectations of farmers."
 
In the particular case of Santo Antão Cooperative, João Ponte was able to see for himself that the current facilities are no longer capable of providing a desirable response to the different requests of the agricultural sector in the village of Ponta Garça. In this regard, the government official welcomed the institution's intention to move forward with its expansion.