The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry highlighted today the increasing use of agricultural innovation in the Azores, pointing out the case of hydroponics for vegetable production, whose investment projects approved this year amounted to 1.2 million Euros.
 
"Hydroponics is an innovation that farmers can and should use. It is certain that there are significant competitive advantages, especially between the months of November and February," said João Ponte, who spoke at the end of a visit to a small hydroponic horticulture farm in the municipality of Ponta Delgada.
 
João Ponte stressed that there are already large horticultural and fruit farms in Mainland Portugal that use hydroponics to produce tomatoes, lettuces and strawberries, among other products.
 
"We have also started following this path in the Azores," the government official said, stressing that the Regional Government is supporting training in hydroponics as it is an area that requires more technical knowledge.
 
Increased productivity and quality, production control, increased turnover, lower production costs and reduction of pests, whereas the product does not get into contact with the soil, are some of the advantages of horticultural production using hydroponics that were pointed out by the Regional Secretary.
 
João Ponte considered that the farm he visited today is a good example of the application of innovation to agriculture, noting that it was made without resorting to EU funds or applications for income support; nonetheless, it can be sustainable.
 
Hydroponics is a cultivation technique without soil as the roots of plants are in the water, where all the nutrients necessary for their feeding are added.