The Regional Under Secretary of the Presidency for External Relations highlighted the importance of the agricultural sector in the islands' economy, defending that the European Union "cannot overlook this reality" and "should support island farming in a very clear way."

"The importance of the agricultural sector on European islands is comparatively higher than in European continental regions. Hence, the European Union cannot overlook this reality and should provide support to the sector in a very clear way, through specific measures that must acknowledge that this is a fundamental part of the economy of island territories," stressed Rodrigo Oliveira. The government official spoke at a session of the 34th General Assembly of the Islands Commission of CPMR.

"Similarly to many other European islands, agriculture and agro-industry in the Azores have a significant weight in regional economy, employment and their contribution to wealth generation in comparison to the national and European average," stressed Rodrigo Oliveira. The government official reminded the economic and social relevance of the agricultural sector in the Azores, where 56% of the land area is used for agricultural activity and the primary sector represents 8.5% of the regional GVA; it currently employs 12.5% of the working population.

In this regard, the Regional Under Secretary stated that "natural features of the archipelago and its landform provide the Azores with favourable conditions for the practice of animal husbandry, especially in the dairy and meat sectors. The Region also offers good conditions for a growing diversity of agricultural productions at lower altitudes, including maize, horticultural crops, fruits and vineyards.

The importance of the dairy sector, which represented about 32% of Portuguese dairy production in 2012, and the high rate of young Azorean farmers were other aspects mentioned by Rodrigo Oliveira, who also stressed the investments in the modernisation and restructuring of production structures. These interventions "involved a considerable amount of funding from EU programmes."

"The Azores stand out at a European level for the excellent use of the funds granted under the Rural Development Programme. This situation evidences, on the one hand, the entrepreneurial skills of Azorean businesspeople in the agricultural sector and agro-industry and, on the other hand, a strong and active regional power that is closer to the people and the reality of the archipelago," said the government official.

Regarding POSEI Programme, Rodrigo Oliveira stressed that "the experience gained in the Azores demonstrated, likewise the rural development policy, the relevance of a reinforced partnership between the European Union and regional authorities. It enables a closer knowledge and an improved response to the specific problems affecting the regions concerned."
 
For the future, the Regional Secretary pointed out "the legitimate expectations on the implementation of an environmentally-friendly, fairer and transparent Common Agricultural Policy for Member States and farmers. It should include the allocation of support to young and small-sized farmers."

"The current revision responds precisely to the need of turning CAP from an agricultural policy solely targeted at production into an agricultural policy directed to sustainable and multifunctional rural development with the aim of improving regional balances and, thus, safeguarding the landscape and environment," said Rodrigo Oliveira. In this context, the government official highlighted the importance of quality and the excellence of agricultural products.

Therefore, the government official considered that "the development of joint efforts to boost the credibility of an increasingly distinctive brand is absolutely fundamental for the projection and promotion of regional products from island territories both in the internal and external markets."

"This is an essential aspect of the work we are developing in the Region, through the creation of the Azores brand," added the Regional Under Secretary.
The dismantling of milk quotas is another challenge for the future. It requires a joint effort between Member States and Region to "find solutions that might mitigate the impact caused by the end of this scheme."

Rodrigo Oliveira also addressed the revision of POSEI, among other topics. According to him, "there is no doubt that the future continuity of this tool and its financial allocation should be safeguarded. One cannot forget that this programme was created to mitigate structural and permanent constraints."

"In the context of the policies to offset additional production costs in agriculture, it is important that all parties involved pay close attention to the attempts intended to overlook POSEI, particularly under the general provisions of CAP," warned Rodrigo Oliveira.