The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry, Noé Rodrigues, said that in the Azores there is plenty of land that is suited for agricultural activities other than raising cattle and milk production.
Noé Rodrigues, while attending the graduation ceremony of twenty students that completed a vocational training course on floral art that was organised by the Municipality of Ribeira Grande, emphasised the favourable conditions for the development of such activities as floriculture.
The Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry recognised the economic significance of cattle raising and milk-production in the Azores. However, he also underlined the economic diversification policies pursued by the Regional Government and said that such policies have “created new opportunities for Azorean agriculture and value chains in such sectors as fruit-growing, horticulture and floriculture.”
With regard to floriculture, he said that annually more than one million stems are grown in the Azores and that it is necessary to improve the commercialisation strategy for these products.
Noé Rodrigues visited the Ribeira Grande Municipal Museum, which was decorated with the floral creations of the students that attended the vocational training course.