Regional Government boosts agribusiness with €10.4 million through RRP - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Agricultura e Alimentação

The Regional Government is promoting the modernisation and competitiveness of the agrifood sector through a specific measure under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), managed by the Institute for Food and Agricultural Markets (IAMA), with a budget of €10.4 million.

Designated as "support schemes for processing and marketing companies" (Action 05/C05-i05-RAA/2022), is part of the overall investment of €34 million allocated specifically to the Economic Relaunch of Azorean Agriculture.

This line of funding, which has a support rate of 80%, attracted applications from 19 regional companies, mobilising a global investment of about €14.4 million.

The projects submitted cover areas that are crucial to the archipelago's economy, including the dairy, wine, food distribution, ornamentation and agrifood innovation sectors.

A practical example of this use of EU funds is the investment made by the company Moisés Diniz Leal, which was visited today by the Regional Secretary for Agriculture: with €276,000, the developer invested in the construction of infrastructure and the purchase of equipment for the processing and packaging of ready-to-eat vegetables.

According to the Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Food, António Ventura, "the RRP has been a decisive tool in transforming agriculture in the Azores."

"We have managed to accelerate investments that had been identified as priorities for years and provide the sector with better conditions to produce more efficiently, with more knowledge and greater sustainability, starting with agribusiness," stated the government official.

António Ventura emphasised that these funds are leading to "the creation of food innovation, the improvement of processing procedures, and the preparation of our agrifood industries for new market demands."

As for structural implementation, the Regional Secretary ensured that Azorean agriculture is now "better prepared for future challenges."

As parallel examples of the RRP implementation, the government official pointed out the enhancement of the soil analysis capacity, the improvement of weather information, the creation of the Azores Agrifood Observatory, and the progress of the São Jorge slaughterhouse project.

The current status of RRP implementation in agriculture demonstrates this operational dynamic: the rigorous targets set, with three of the four "group A" targets already achieved, as well as all four "group B" targets.