The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and the Environment revealed in Praia da Vitória that the Dairy Sector Restructuring Programme, announced by the President of the Azorean Government at the last meeting of the Strategic Concertation Council, it will be under discussion in the next meeting the Council of the Government.
 
Speaking Friday at the opening session of the Agricultural Conference of Praia da Vitória, Luís Neto Viveiros stressed that this programme "provides financial compensation to regional cow milk producers who are committed to definitively abandon milk production."
 
"We are providing nearly 200 farmers with the possibility of retiring with dignity, while promoting the resizing and reparcelling of farms and the continuous rejuvenation of the agricultural sector," stressed the government official.
 
The Secretary for Agriculture said the Government of the Azores expects that "this measure will remove 60 producers on Terceira, that is, about six million litres of milk and they will have the possibility to reconvert their farms for other activities."
 
"We will contribute to mitigation of these impacts at a time when the island is facing limitations imposed to production," the Regional Secretary said, adding that "financial compensation will increase" in the cases of reparcelling as well as in the cases "when the recipient is a young farmer."
 
Neto Viveiros also announced that the next Council of the Government will analyse the proposal concerning the SAFIAGRI III, also prepared in recent months in cooperation with the Azores Agricultural Federation.
 
"Thus, Azorean farmers will be able to count on a programme to support the financing of farms, which provides the public funding of 30% of the financial burden of loans taken out for investments in farms," revealed the government official.
 
In his speech, Neto Viveiros stressed that SAFIAGRI III "will cover a loan volume of about 80 million Euros," adding that this support measure reduces "the monthly burden of farms, especially at a time when income has declined."
 
The implementation of these measures "also reinforces the effect of various mechanisms already in force in the Region, such as AGROCRÉDITO." This credit line in the amount of 30 million Euros was created in 2015 "with the purpose of strengthening the working capital of farms through the subsidisation of interest rates." It has already benefited nearly fifty farmers.
 
Neto Viveiros assured "all farmers on Terceira and other islands that today, as yesterday, they are not alone, no matter how difficult or challenging are the times we live in." In this regard, he also revealed some changes to the regional programme to support the acquisition of machinery and equipment.
 
PROAMA, also supported by regional funds, "will now have a wider scope, covering the purchase of equipment and materials necessary for electrification within farms," said the government official.
 
"We will get through this crisis, as in the past managed to overcome many other challenges," said the Regional Secretary, noting that, "despite the scenario we live in, the majority of farms has economic or financial viability." In this regard, the government official believes the Azores "will come out this crisis stronger."
 
For Neto Viveiros, the economic situation that the sector is facing "requires determination to defend what is right, but also seriousness, serenity and resilience." The government official ensured that "they can count on the Government of the Azores, as always, to work and find good solutions for problems."