The President of the Government opened Wednesday the new facilities of Graciosa Winery and Agricultural Cooperative, an investment of about 1.4 million Euros that Vasco Cordeiro considered the "beginning of a new path" to boost the competitiveness of the island's agriculture and production fabric.
 
"Due to this 1.4 million-Euro investment, supported by the Azorean Government under ProRural, the island of Graciosa is now endowed with better conditions to be more competitive not only in terms of wine production, but also in terms of endogenous products such as cantaloupe melon and garlic," said Vasco Cordeiro.
 
Speaking on the second day of the statutory visit to Graciosa, Vasco Cordeiro states that this reason has led the Regional Government to support, from the very beginning, the modernisation programme of the Winery and Agricultural Cooperative. It falls within a wider regional strategy that has been developed throughout the archipelago.
 
"This investment, besides the added value it represents in itself, holds a meaning that goes well beyond the island of Graciosa. It is a further step in a wider strategy intended to endow all islands with the necessary conditions for the creation of more jobs and generate more wealth," said the government official.
 
Vasco Cordeiro also noted the Azorean Government's availability to continue supporting not only Graciosa Winery and Cooperative, but also a number of other entities of the sector throughout the Region.
 
"We have always been at your side and we will continue to be at your side, but now, with this investment, it is up to you. This is a demonstration of confidence in those who, like Graciosa farmers, have overcome all obstacles in this process and will not fail to respond to the challenge of turning these facilities into a tool for the island's development," said the government official.
 
In his speech, the President of the Government also pointed out that Graciosa is a good example of the effort towards agricultural diversification that has been undertaken throughout the Region with the aim of enhancing the potential of each island in the most diverse agricultural productions.
 
"This has been, from the very beginning, one of the Regional Government's main goals and it is already possible to present concrete data on the results of this investment. It aims, on the one hand, to reduce imports and, on the other hand, increase exports, thus generating more value in this agricultural chain and more wealth in the Azores," said the President of the Government.
 
In this regard, Vasco Cordeiro added that the area dedicated to agricultural diversification grew 25 percent between 2015 and 2017, increasing from 2,300 hectares to 3,000 hectares.