The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry denied that horticultural producers are being discriminated against in the support allocated by the Regional Government to minimise production losses due to drought.
 
"I cannot accept the criticisms of Terra Verde Association when it accuses the Regional Government of lack of attention and lack of support for horticultural producers in comparison with the livestock sector," said João Ponte.
 
The government official stressed that no direct support has been awarded to farmers with loss of production due to drought, nor has the amount to be paid per hectare been defined. Therefore, there is no discrimination between sectors.
 
When analysing the latest revision of POSEI, there has been an 8% increase in horticulture aid, while the funds for animal production have remained unchanged.
 
João Ponte also explained that the reinforcement of water supply that is being made in various strategic points is not intended for the exclusive use of farmers, as horticultural producers may also be supplied by transporting water to their farms.
 
Of the 1,407 applications submitted, so far, for support to production loss due to drought, 541 concern the horticultural sector, revealed the Regional Secretary.
 
"Overall, we are talking about an area over 6,000 hectares throughout the archipelago, of which 5,572 hectares correspond to the production of corn and 336 hectares to horticultural products," said the Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry.
 
At this moment, the teams of technicians are in the field to verify the applications submitted, so that the amount to be paid per hectare may be defined.
 
The Regional Government is committed to helping farmers to minimise the impacts of drought in full coordination with the Azores Agricultural Federation.