The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry announced today that the works to remodel Fundo agricultural road and the project for Facho agricultural road on Santa Maria will move forward in 2018. These interventions continue the Regional Government’s determination to improve agricultural infrastructures that also serve the local population and visitors.

“Next year, we are moving forward with the remodeling of Fundo Road, a work with an estimated budget of 300 thousand Euros. This is mainly an agricultural road, but is also an important link road to divert heavy traffic from the centre of Vila do Porto,” said João Ponte at the opening of Santana/Anjos rural road on the las day of the statutory visit to Santa Maria.

The Secretary for Agriculture stated that, next year, the project to remodel Facho road, besides its agricultural purposes, is also relevant as a tourist site and gives access to an industrial area.

João Ponte pointed out that this type of public investment aims to provide with farmers with better working conditions as well as to better serve the local population and tourists visiting the island of Santa Maria.

The Santana/Anjos rural road, opened today, has an extension of 1,530 metres. It involves an investment of about 372 thousand Euros and improve the access to 15 farms, covering an area of 128 hectares.

This work falls within the Regional Government’s policy to modernise infrastructures with the aim of keeping up with the investments carried out by farmers in the modernisation of farms, reducing costs for farms, boosting competitiveness of agricultural production and improving working conditions in the agricultural sector.
 
João Ponte assured that the Regional Government will continue to allocate funds in order to invest in infrastructures for the agricultural sector, similarly to what has been carried out on several islands of the Azores.

As for water supply to farms, the Regional Secretary acknowledged the need and the Government’s willingness to continue investing so that we may “increase of the quantity of water and the supply capacity.”

Next year, the Regional Institute of Agrarian Planning (IROA) plans to carry out investments in the expansion of the water supply network to farms, thus improving the working conditions and the profitability of farms.

According to João Ponte, the Government will make investments in accordance with the available budget, always taking into account that water is an essential asset for human life and for the agricultural sector.