The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry said in Horta on Tuesday that the Government of the Azores will move ahead with a project to support small dairy factories in the archipelago.
The information was provided by Noé Rodrigues at the end of a meeting with social partners, experts in the field of scientific and technical research, and the staff of official services for the presentation of the project “Technical Support to Improve Dairy Products of the Azores.”
According to the Regional Secretary, the goal is to support the dairy industrial units on Pico, Faial, Flores, Corvo and possibly São Jorge to overcome the difficulties in the areas related to research and laboratories as well as to improve “in terms of quality and standardisation” of their products.
Regarding the goals to be achieved with this programme, Noé Rodrigues also stressed the need to ensure “new ways of approaching the market” and stipulate the nutritional facts of products, which he considered to be “a very important approach to reach consumers and enhance regional products.”
 Questioned about the lack of milk they face the smaller islands, the Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry stressed that increasing production on these islands inevitably requires the enhancement of dairy products.
With the enhancement of dairy products, we will be able to make milk production more profitable, Noé Rodrigues noted, adding that with a profitable milk production, we are also increasing the productivity levels of the activity.
Regarding the meeting with the main operators in the meat sector held in Ponta Delgada on Monday, the Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry said to have been agreed to move forward with a project to characterise Azorean meat The p which will be developed in a partnership with INOVA (Institute of Technological Innovation of the Azores) and INETI (National Institute of Engineering Technology and Innovation, IP), both of which have a considerable experience in laboratory research.
By completing this project, continued the Secretary, we will have the scientific and experimental information “to provide our business sector with a new market approach to raise the consumers’ awareness for the unique quality of our production and its nutritional value.”