The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry assured in Lisbon that the Regional Government is proactive in defending the Region's interests in different areas towards a Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the 2021-2027period to address the challenges of Azorean agriculture.
 
"The Regional Government has worked with great commitment and determination, both inside and outside the country, towards a strong and financially consolidated CAP that will contribute to the growth and sustainable development of the sector. It will have the capacity to respond to future challenges, namely modernisation, generational rejuvenation and improvement of competitiveness," said João Ponte.
 
The Regional Secretary spoke at the end of the meeting of the Council on the Monitoring and Evaluation of the Common Agricultural Policy 2021-2027. According to him, the current negotiations require the coordination and firmness on the part of all stakeholders to achieve positive results.
 
The government official emphasised that, internally, it has been possible to agree on positions with the National Government, namely those concerning the need to define and manage regional rural development programmes as in the current framework.
 
The proposal under discussion for the main implementing regulations of the CAP for the 2021-2027 period provides for the drafting of a single strategic plan per Member State, with a single managing authority, which will cover the EU support under EAFRD.
 
"We are against a single strategic plan by Member State. The National Government has accepted the Regional Government's proposal and will exert all the pressure on European institutions for the creation of regional strategic plans as far as the characteristics of Azorean agriculture are different from Mainland Portugal," said João Ponte. On the occasion, he added that "a specific strategic plan better defends the interests of regional agriculture."
 
Ensuring a transition period from one to two years between the current and the next Community Support Framework is also essential, João Ponte said, defending that "this will ensure the aid to farmers as well as the financial means for the continuous modernisation of the sector."
 
The Azorean government also stressed that it was possible to reiterate the need to maintain the Community co-financing rates at 85% instead of the 70% rate proposed by the European Commission in the upcoming European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).
 
On the other hand, João Ponte pointed out the need to strengthen the financial allocation for the second pillar, which has an announced reduction of 15%, and maintain the same allocation under POSEI.
 
As for the Committee of the Regions and the Conference of Outermost Regions, the Regional Secretary for Agriculture stated that the President of the Government, Vasco Cordeiro, presented and got the approval of proposals amending the position of these bodies on the CAP, which are "good for Azorean farmers." The documents will now be submitted to European authorities.
 
João Ponte also added that this fifth meeting of the Council on the Monitoring and Revision of CAP, which precedes the European Agriculture Council to be held in Brussels next week, allowed us to outline the future strategic plan, regardless of the implementation of a single plan per Member-State.
 
"The new environmental framework is one of the issues that concerns us at this stage. The Region defends that the incentives should be maintained to mitigate the effects of climate change as well as to promote sustainable development, efficient water and soil management and biodiversity protection. In the case of the Azores, we are at a higher level in terms of environmental conditions and contribution to carbon neutrality," said João Ponte.