Santa Maria now has an Agri-Food Logistics Centre to support and enhance agricultural production on the island, which simultaneously enables the provision of technical support to producers as well as the reception, preparation and marketing of their products.

Presiding over the opening ceremony of the new infrastructure on Friday, Carlos César considered that the investment made by AGROMARIENSECOOP in the amount of one million eight hundred thousand Euros, of which 75% were granted in the form of non-refundable subsidies, "represents a vital tool in changing the organisational pattern of agriculture on Santa Maria.”

Being traditionally oriented to subsistence production and marketing of inputs through imports - as emphasised by the President of the Regional Government - the agricultural sector has experienced a boost on Santa Maria in the last five years.

For the President of the Government, one can already mention the quality of its beef and cantaloupe production. The latter has registered a significant growth, from about twenty tonnes, five years ago, to a current production exceeding 100 tonnes per year in addition to being placed on external markets.

"With this logistics and operational centre we are opening we are providing a new type of support to farmers and local agricultural products, particularly in the area of diversification, where we very interesting market initiatives are already taking place in addition to cantaloupe production,” stated the President of the Government.

Citing as examples the production of honey under protected designation of origin and jam, Carlos César underlined that "on Santa Maria, as on all our islands, agriculture has to go through a permanent path of modernisation, quality and efficiency which is a motive of pride for all of us."

However, one should not, in his view, "ignore the funding difficulties of private entrepreneurial initiatives and competition in the markets, but the immediate path requires the continuity of government support to producers, responsibility and the improvement of their skills."

As he pointed out, "the budget choices of the Regional Government for public investment in 2012 restates the agricultural sector as a major policy priority for us and of great importance for the productive Azores we want to develop. Farmers have responded well to these options, benefiting from these public investments.

"Right here, on Santa Maria, we recently carried out a major investment of over 6.5 million Euros in the integrated water supply system to farms, also benefiting the entire population. Moreover, we invested nearly 3.5 million Euros in the industrial slaughterhouse and in the respective cutting room, which can now be used by the dynamic efforts undertaken by AGROMARIENSECOOP," recalled the President of the Government.

Government investments, in conjunction with those of farmers, in animal and plant health, the modernisation of farms, agricultural information and training were also cited as "good examples of this effort, through which the Government and farmers have been united, with many successful cases."

Restating his belief that the new Agri-Food Logistics Centre on Santa Maria will simultaneously enhance the sustainability of the island's agricultural value chains and, therefore, generating more jobs and wealth, Carlos César said that nobody should remain indifferent to new this dimension of Santa Maria agriculture.

"There are challenges to overcome: increased efficiency and management rigour, dynamic approach to the market and consumers, dissemination and promotion of products in a professional and conscious manner," stated the President of the Government.