Regional and national authorities work in partnership to improve provision of services to agriculture, says João Ponte
The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry stated on Terceira Island that the Azorean Government is working in full cooperation and coordination with the Directorate-General of Food and Veterinary Medicine (DGAV) to improve the services provided to Azorean farmers in various areas.
"The visit of DAGV's technical leaders to the Azores was extremely important as far as it raised their awareness for the specificities of regional agriculture and the needs of farmers. Additionally, it addressed various matters, whose responses could be improved," said João Ponte. He spoke at the end of a meeting with the Director-General of DGAV, Fernando Bernardo, in Angra do Heroísmo.
Several matters related to sanitation, the licensing of containers for the export of cattle from the Azores and the licensing of establishments for the sale of veterinary medicines were under analysis at this meeting.
"The Director-General of DGAV has been available to evaluate the issues addressed and improve existing cooperation with a view to improving the current response time," said the government official. According to him, these dialogue and partnership efforts are fundamental to continue providing better and faster service to farmers and, thereby, to develop Azorean agriculture.
Between February 26 and 28, a group of technical leaders of DGAV visited Terceira, where they met with several entities and visited the Slaughterhouse and the Regional Veterinary Laboratory, among others.