Regional Government invests in new coffee variety experimentation project
Angra do Heroísmo
Secretaria Regional da Agricultura e Alimentação
The Regional Government, through the Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and Food, in partnership with the Association of Azorean Coffee Producers, has produced 6,000 coffee plants at the Agrarian Development Service on Terceira Island, which will be planted later this month in experimental fields on several islands.
This project, which involves Delta Cafés, aims to study the adaptation and productive capacity of six new varieties of Arabica coffee from Brazil, compared to the two varieties already existing in the Azores.
According to the Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Food, "the six varieties being studied were chosen from a group of more than 200 varieties of Arabica coffee."
"When choosing them, attention was essentially paid to their characteristics, which make them more easily adaptable to the soil and climate conditions of the Azores," revealed António Ventura.
The study covers the islands of Terceira, São Miguel, Graciosa, Pico and Faial. On the island of Terceira, there are two experimental fields, one at the Agrarian Development Service (SDA) and another privately owned, and eight private observation fields. On the island of São Miguel, there are two experimental fields at the Agrarian Development Work and seven private observation fields.
In turn, the islands of Graciosa, Pico and Faial have one observation field each, installed at the respective Agrarian Development Services.
According to the Secretary for Agriculture and Food, "the experimental fields will cover the largest number of plants, while the observation fields are smaller and are used to study different variables."
The fields were selected by a technical team consisting of technicians from the Agrarian Development Services of the islands involved in the study. The efforts are coordinated by Jorge Azevedo and Marcus Mollin, a consultant from Brazil.
"Coffee growing in the Azores will benefit from this study, as it will have scientific evidence available to make it more competitive. Coffee growing is only viable for the Azores if it produces a differentiated product of excellence, namely the production of speciality coffee products," stated António Ventura.
