The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and the Environment stressed today on Pico the growing number of animals and slaughters registered in the archipelago. This island accounts for almost 40% of number of regional farms dedicated to livestock production under Protected Geographical Indication (PGI).
 
"It was the right investment," said Luís Neto Viveiros. The government official spoke during a visit to one of the 137 PGI farms on Pico located in the village of S. Caetano. The island has a natural production system in which animals can be fed based on natural or improved pastures.
 
The Regional Secretary revealed that, since 2007, the year when certification began according to the approved specifications, the amount of slaughtered PGI meat grew from 33 to 516 tonnes in 2015, only the island of Pico.
 
Currently, there are 815 farms certified for the production of PGI meat throughout the archipelago. The island of Terceira (93 farms) and Santa Maria (74 farms) are the other two island where this production is more significant.
 
Luís Neto Viveiros also noted that about 40% of regional production is mostly exported to Mainland Portugal and is sold in markets at a higher price compared to the remainder meat, the difference being of 40 cents per kilogram of carcass.
 
As the entity responsible for the Technical Committee for Certification and Control, the Institute for Food and Agricultural Markets (IAMA) conducts regular checks on applicant farms and the monitoring of approved farms, in addition to assessing eligibility requests concerning animals proposed for slaughter and the selection of markets.