The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry met in Angra do Heroísmo today with the boards from Terceira Agricultural Association and Terceira Young Farmers Association, with whom he analysed a complementary support programme to modernise dairy farms.
Noé Rodrigues spoke with the journalists at the end of the meeting and said that the Government’s purpose is to “reinforce the support to the competitiveness and sustainability of dairy farms.”
The Secretary announced that the Region will receive 30% of the funds from the national programme for the sector’s restructuring. Regarding the case of the Azores, these funds will be “entirely destined to production,” whilst in Mainland Portugal the financial aid will comprise the whole production sector, production, commercialisation and milk processing.
The Azorean Government has opted to favour production, because the milk processing sector has already been modernised with public support, and other structures have been created, in addition to substantial investments made by Government regarding agricultural planning.
By reinforcing the financial support, the Government intends to stimulate the restructuring and reorganisation of farms, particularly through reparcelling, and to provide answers to environmental questions whenever reparcelling interventions require so.
Noé Rodrigues also said that the Government of the Azores continues to fight for the maintenance of the milk quota system; nevertheless, if this community administrative process ends, the financial aid provided by the Government will help the milk production sector facing this new reality.
After this meeting with the agricultural associations of Terceira, Noé Rodrigues also met with the board of the FRUTER hortifruti-floriculture cooperative.