In recent years, the Government of the Azores has been supporting fundamental investment in the accessibility network, water and power supply and the modernisation of farms and dairy industries. These investments have substantially reduced production costs, which has contributed to the average growth of farms and, consequently, to an increase in competitiveness and quality production.

The information was revealed by the Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry at the opening ceremony of the Seminar "Queijos tradicionais açorianos: aspetos sócio-económicos, tecnologia, segurança e inovação. O passado e o presente da produção de leite nos Açores” (Traditional Azorean cheeses: social and economic aspects, technology, safety and innovation. Past and present of milk production in the Azores). The event took place at INOVA premises.

"We have operated silently but consistently; we have carried out a major restructuring in the regional dairy sector. As a result of that effort, we have grown 50 percent in terms of regional milk production in the Azores and we were able to decrease the number of producers by 45 percent," stressed the government official.

The Secretary for Agriculture highlighted the prompt and positive response provided by the Government when joining the initiative promoted by INOVA to take part in strategic programmes for the improvement of regional agro-food products. We "believe that we are providing an effective contribution to our economy in strategic and fundamental sector of Azorean economy."

Noé Rodrigues recalled that the Azores are distant from the main markets and have a small internal market spread across nine islands where economies of scale are difficult to achieve.

For this reason, the Regional Secretary says that the "major investment" includes the promotion of added value products in the dairy sector that have registered an "exceptional evolution in recent years either for their growth or for the increase in their effectiveness and efficiency."