Azorean farmers receive aid amounting to 22 million Euros on the last day of the year
Azorean farmers and forest producers will receive aid amounting to 21.7 million Euros under POSEI and PRORURAL+ on December 31, of which 1.1 million Euros will allocated from the Regional Budget.
In the case of POSEI, payments correspond to aid for pineapple producers, aid for arable crop producers, the dairy cow premium and the suckling cow premium, the slaughter premium for the first semester and the premium for sheep and goat producers. The aid amounts to 18.4 million Euros, of which 692 thousand Euros come from the Region's own funds.
Regarding PRORURAL+, the payments concern agri-environmental and climate measures, organic farming and the maintenance of agriculture in less-favoured areas.
PRORURAL+ payments to Azorean farmers total 3.3 million Euros, of which 465 thousand Euros are allocated from the Region's own funds.
The PRORURAL+ measures intend to support more environmentally-friendly production methods, namely organic farming and the maintenance of agriculture in less-favoured areas, also contributing to economic development and the establishment of the population in rural areas.
The allocation of aid under POSEI falls within the European policy to compensate farmers for production in less-favoured and remote areas as well as for production of quality food at affordable prices for all consumers.
It should be recalled that the European Commission approved this month all proposals presented by the Azores for amendments to next year's POSEI, as in 2017 and 2018. This decision is incredibly positive for farmers as far as it continues adjusting aid to the growth dynamics and ensures the sustainability of the regional agricultural sector. In fact, it introduces positive discrimination criteria for small-scale production and the increase support for quality production.
In 2019, the financial allocation for POSEI will reach almost 70.3 million Euros from the European Union, plus 4.8 million Euros from the Regional Budget.
As already known, the allocation of Community funds to POSEI in the Azores has proved to be insufficient to cope with the growth of agricultural production, giving rise to apportionment operations in some productions. The amount granted to this programme will remain unchanged by 2020.
The Regional Government will continue to work with national and European authorities to reinforce the budget allocation for POSEI in the 2021-2027 period, even though the current financial envelope is already assured.