The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry stated today that the maintenance of maintenance of agricultural roads on the island of Pico will be resumed in early September in order to improve working conditions for farmers and increase the competitiveness of farms.
 
“About 200 tonnes of asphalt were recently brought to the island of Pico. They will now be applied, whenever the weather conditions are favourable, to forest and rural roads with the aim of improving the working conditions of farmers and all those who use these roads,” said João Ponte. the government official spoke on the sidelines of a visit to the improvement works of Landroal rural road.
 
The Secretary for Agriculture stressed that Pico, with a road network stretching over 360 kilometres, is one of the islands where it is necessary to focus our action towards the improvement of current conditions.
 
“This year, 20 tonnes of asphalt have already been applied, mainly in the villages of São Caetano and São João, as well as in the access road to the Mountain's House, a mandatory stop for those visiting Pico Island,” said the Regional Secretary. According to him, 800 thousand Euros have already been invested in the maintenance of agricultural roads on the island of Pico in the current legislative term.
 
The government official acknowledged that the conditions of some forest and rural roads are not yet the best, but this is due to the delay in maintenance work as result of the absence of competitors in the first tender for the acquisition of asphalt and the heavy rainfall during the spring and summer seasons.
 
The strategy for the modernisation of agricultural infrastructures is one of the key goals of the Regional Government, given their direct impact on the improvement of farmers' working conditions, competitiveness and efficiency of farms, which will contribute to boosting farmers' income.
 
The intervention in Landroal rural road covers an extension of 3,230 metres. It includes the widening of the road, the construction of a drainage system, the laying of fences and the macadamisation of the road surface.
 
“We are also doing here on Pico Island what we have been doing on all other islands: to provide the agricultural sector with better working conditions, better roads, better infrastructures to make life easier for farmers, reduce production costs and, above all, to boost the competitiveness of the regional agricultural sector. In fact, this is a strategic sector and the main sector of regional economic activity, which contributes most to the export of regional products,” said João Ponte.
 
For the government official, it is unthinkable to develop a quality and successful agriculture without roads, water and electricity supply to farms. Accordingly, the Government has already invested in the first three years of this legislative term more than 25 million Euros in the modernisation of agricultural infrastructures, namely in the improvement of agricultural roads, the supply of water and the electrification of farms.
 
However, João Ponte noted that the responsibility for the maintenance and improvement of these agricultural infrastructures is not the sole responsibility of the Regional Government. In this regard, he stressed that municipalities also have responsibilities that must be taken, seeing that not all access roads to farms are part of the regional network and municipalities often own water supply systems.