Azores Sustainable Land Use Management Platform with 2,280 requests for analysis and 1,760 documents issued - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Agricultura e Alimentação

The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Food stated that the Azores Sustainable Land Use Management (GUSSA) platform, created in February 2023, currently registers 2,280 requests for analysis and has already issued 1,760 analysis reports.

According to António Ventura, "São Miguel island registers the highest number of requests, accounting for 44% of all requests for analysis of soil samples in the Region."

The GUSSA online platform was created by the Information and Communication Technologies Department of the Planning Office of the Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and Food in collaboration with the Regional Directorate for Agriculture and the University of the Azores.

This tool monitors in real time and organises processes relating to the acquisition of services to assess the fertility of agricultural soils in the Azores from the Gaspar Frutuoso Foundation, as part of the pursuit of the goals of the  Programme for Innovation and Digitisation of Agriculture in the Azores" under the "Investment C05-i05-RAA - Economic Recovery of Azorean Agriculture" of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP).

The GUSSA platform provides better advice to producers on adapting fertilisation methods to the reality of their farms, thus avoiding incorrect fertilisations that cause unnecessary agri-environmental and financial losses.

According to the Regional Secretary, "soil in the Azores is an element of sustainability that supports the excellence of agrifood products."

He continued: "Agricultural practices in the Azores respect the soil as a management asset in their production. Soil in the Azores is a means of confidence and assurance in agricultural production sustainability. For this reason, we have soil-orientated policies that provide security in terms of agricultural production resources."

Soil analysis is an important and indispensable technical tool for guaranteeing the agri-environmental sustainability of fertilisation practices, establishing criteria that will optimise and balance the goals of increasing productivity and environmental protection.

"Sustainability will continue to be a guiding principle for the actions of the XIV Government of the Azores, with a strategy for Azorean agriculture based on a more sustainable agriculture that meets the goals of promoting self-sufficiency in animal feed, reducing the use of pesticides, fertilisers and antimicrobial agents, promoting the biological diversity of plant and animal genetic resources, conserving soil and water, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing carbon sequestration," he said.

This is a joint endeavour with the Azores Agricultural Federation and involves its members on all islands.