The Government of the Azores will transfer to the IROA, S.A. (Regional Institute of Agrarian Planning) the global amount of 3,375,000 Euros this year, under a contract-programme to be signed between the Autonomous Region of the Azores and that public limited liability company.
Under this contract-programme, whose minute was published in the Official Journal today, the amount awarded to the IROA, S.A. will co-finance, as a complement of EU and other funds, interventions to build and renew the water supply systems for animal husbandry, agricultural roads and electrical grids to support agriculture in the agricultural planning perimeter (POA) on several islands.
In addition to research surveys and water collection on Santa Maria (area of Ribeira do Engenho), Terceira (areas of Cabouco and Cume do Cabrito), Graciosa (area of Ramalheiras) and São Jorge (Velas), the contract-programme also includes the construction of a water treatment plant on Terceira (POA of Altares/Raminho) and several contract works for water supply networks on São Miguel (POA of the Ponta Delgada and the Central Zone Dairy Basins), Terceira (POA of Altares/Raminho), S. Jorge (POA of Beira/Rosais) and Flores (Vales).
Contract works to build and improve the Maranhão road and the Mariquinha das Dores lane, located in the POA of the Ponta Delgada Dairy Basin, the roads of Coroa, Vale Grande and of Marquês, in the POA of the Central Zone and the roads of Chão do Pico and Lomba Grande, located in the POA of Povoação will be carried out on São Miguel Island.
With regard to Terceira Island, there will be interventions in the Ribeira das Nove road (POA of Cinco Ribeiras/Santa Bárbara), the Cidral road (POA of the Paul Dairy Basin), the Dois Moios lane and in the Esteves road (POA of Altares/Raminho).
Furthermore, contract works to supply electricity to 80 milking rooms on São Miguel, 20 on Terceira and 2 on São Jorge, studies and agrarian planning interventions, the payment of the regional subsidy (15%) for the Early Retirement measure, the interests and subsidies contemplated in the incentive systems to purchase agricultural land (SICATE and RICTA) are among the aforementioned actions, which are integrated in the Regional Annual Plan for 2009.
The Regional Institute of Agrarian Planning was transformed into a public limited liability company – IROA, S.A. – on January 2007, with the purpose of reinforcing the water supply network and the electrical grid, increasing the network of agricultural roads and encouraging the agricultural reparcelling, as well as the agrarian structuring.
This company aims to provide services of general economic interest in the agricultural sector, including the plan and implementation of agrarian planning works; to manage of programmes to support the restructuring of the agricultural sector; to promote reparcelling and resizing operations in agricultural land or in farms; to manage and monitor subsidies for the private initiative that aim to physically and economically resize the farms; to conduct studies on agrarian planning.