The President of the Government stated in Lajes das Flores that the Government is perfectly aware of the dimension of the challenge the dairy sector is facing and, for this reason, has implemented measures to support the income of producers, reduce costs and promote the restructuring of the sector.
 
"We are aware of the dimension of this challenge. These measures are an aid that aims to help farmers overcoming this difficult situation in the best possible way," said Vasco Cordeiro. He spoke after a meeting with the Director of the Azores Agricultural Association and its associates, which was held on the second day of the statutory visit to this island.
 
After the meeting, the President of the Government stressed that the last set measures announced by the Government in late 2015 amount to five million Euros, which corresponds to a financial allocation higher than the aid granted by the European Union to the entire country.
 
These measures can be divided into three groups, one of which concerns the support to farmers’ income. In this regard, Vasco Cordeiro pointed out the changes in the dairy cow premium, which has increased on the islands of São Miguel and Terceira without affect any other island.
 
A second component is related reduction of costs, such as the case of SAFIAGRI III, a line of credit designed to compensate the financial burden on loans taken out for investments in regional farms.
 
In addition, the Government has already implemented restructuring measures for the sector, such as the Restructuring Programme of the Dairy Sector, which has already been published. It provides financial compensation to regional milk producers who wish to definitively abandon production with dignity conditions.
 
In the meeting with Flores farmers, the President of the Government reiterated that the main reason for this "turmoil" is not solely grounded on the end of milk quotas, since the growth of milk production in Europe last year was only 2.5 percent, compared to 2014. 
 
According to Vasco Cordeiro, this quantity does not justify all this disruption in the European market, which is experiencing a situation of instability due to the Russian ban on dairy products and the retraction of relevant markets such as China and Angola.
 
These measures add up to others the Government has already implemented, such as the case of AgroCrédito, a line of credit in the amount of 30 million Euros and the processing of more than 18 thousand applications to the measures under POSEI and PRORURAL+; the latter allowed the early payment of about 54 million Euros of aid and premiums to farmers by October 2015.