The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and the Environment highlighted today the significant volume of investment that is being carried out by farmers and industrialists throughout the archipelago, demonstrating the confidence in the regional agro-industrial sector.
 
"It should be noted that farmers have responded in a very significant way" and "benefited from the support provided under PRORURAL+" in a difficult but also particularly challenging time, said Luís Neto Viveiros. The government official spoke on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of Erva Má and Castelo Branco agricultural roads.
 
"This means that they continue to believe in this sector," stressed the Secretary for Agriculture. According to him, a total of 123 projects for the modernisation of farms have been approved since the adoption of the Rural Development Programme over a year ago, representing an overall investment of about 11 million Euros.
 
Neto Viveiros also added that there another 174 projects under analysis at the Regional Directorate for Rural Development; the proposed investment exceeds 23 million Euros.
 
With regard to the area of processing and marketing, the Regional Secretary announced that 11 projects have been already approved and implemented, which corresponds to a total investment of 21 million Euros in Milk and Dairy Products, Poultry Farming, Vineyards and Animal Slaughter.
 
Neto Viveiros also highlighted the increase in the number of young farmers with the approval of 25 new farms; the premium reached the overall amount of one million Euros.
 
The government official also welcomed the "solution adopted" for revision of the criteria regarding the aid granted to milk producers under POSEI. It was preceded by "an arduous and thorough work" that was carried out in partnership with the Azores Agricultural Federation "even before the emergence of other public proposals for the stipulation of this premium"; the latter is currently paid in accordance with the quantity of milk delivered in factory.
 
Neto Viveiros stressed that the proposal submitted to the European Commission was also agreed on by the Azorean Milk and Dairy Centre. According to him, it "avoids apportionments [bearing in mind the existing financial envelope] and also intends to prevent regional producers from being penalised twice" as a result of production limits imposed by some buyers.
 
In this regard, the Region has proposed to Brussels as payment criterion a maximum limit of "95 percent of the production" registered by each producer in 2015, the year when the archipelago registered the highest milk production level.
 
If farmers produce in 2016 more than the quantity produced in the year of reference, they will receive the corresponding premium up to the maximum percentage. In case of producing as much or less than 95% of the 2015 production, producers will receive in accordance with the quantity of milk produced by their farms without any penalty.