The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry announced today on Pico that the Azorean Government intends to increase the allocation of POSEI for the maintenance of vineyards in 2018 to meet the growth register in a sector of great economic importance for this island.
 
"Our proposal includes an allocation of 488 thousand Euros, when in 2016 and 2017 the initial amount was set at 260 thousand Euros. This clearly evidences the effort we are making to respond to the growth that the sector is having," said João Ponte, who was speaking at the end of his visit to a vineyard farm in the municipality of Madalena under the statutory visit to Pico.
 
The Secretary for Agriculture acknowledged that growing wine and producing wine on Pico, especially in the so-called "currais" made of stone, has increased costs and the aids are fundamental to guarantee the sustainability of this culture on the island.
 
The POSEI regional proposal is in the final stages of preparation, after the Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and Forestry received more than a dozen contributions from agricultural sector partners so that the document may be presented to the National Government and, subsequently, to the European Commission.
 
"Aid programmes such as POSEI for the maintenance of vineyards is fundamental," said João Ponte. In this regard, he assured that the Government's expectation is always to raise funds, so as to avoid apportionment in a constantly growing sector.
 
João Ponte also pointed out that there are important challenges to be overcome, namely in terms of transformation and the need to find new markets, "in order to continue valuing wine in a high segment" and so that culture remains "a source of income and sustainability."
 
The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry also stressed that the VITIS programme - Support to the Conversion and Reconstruction of Vineyards has been "fundamental to the development of the wine sector," particularly on the island of Pico, where more than 100 investment projects were approved in 2016; public support reached 5.9 million Euros.
 
"This year, there were 59 applications and a global investment of 2.8 million Euros, which evidences the major revolution that is taking place in this sector on the island of Pico," said João Ponte.
 
Through the VITIS Community programme, the Government has managed to recover 560 hectares of vineyards over the past two years. The overall amount of support already reaches 15 million Euros, covering more than 300 winegrowers.
 
In the Azores, there are almost 1,000 hectares of area suitable for the production of wine bearing the Geographical Indication (GI) and Denomination of Origin (DO) certificates spread over the islands of Pico, Terceira and Graciosa.