The Government of the Azores is concluding a programme to reinforce the competiveness of Regional dairy farms, which should be presented to producers and industrialists within two weeks, being subsequently submitted for community approval, in order to provide a timely and effective response that meets the sector aspirations.
The information was provided today by the Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry after a meeting, which took place today in Ponta Delgada, with the representatives of organisations of dairy producers and industrialists.
Several issues were under analysis at this meeting, including the evolution of dairy market.
With regard to this issue, the Government has decided to propose to the European Union, through the Member-State Portugal, the improvement of intervention levels on prices and quantities that allow the regulation of milk prices, thus assuring some sustainability to Azorean farmers’ incomes, reffered Noé Rodrigues.
At the meeting, the Secretary also asked for a set of solutions from the sector partners in order to help the Regional Government finding the best solutions for the dairy sector.
Noé Rodrigues announced that contracted investment projects are being sent to producers’ addresses to be signed and validated, so that they may be subsequently submitted to credit institutions with which producers work, in order to be immediately processed. Producers will benefit from these funds within three weeks.
Regarding producers’ income subsidies, the Secretary stated that subsidies have already been awarded, with the amount being increasingly higher than last year; however, the Government is still working to accelerate the process.