Applications for investment in farms under RRP run until January 26, recalls Regional Government - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Agricultura e do Desenvolvimento Rural

The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Rural Development stressed today on the island of Graciosa that applications are open under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) until January 26 for investment in livestock farming, where the construction of water reservoirs will be eligible for support.

António Ventura spoke on the sidelines of a meeting with the town council of Santa Cruz da Graciosa. On the occasion, he stressed that "the support schemes for product innovation and production and organisational processes, the green transition and the digital transition, aimed at restructuring farms, are an excellent opportunity for islands with major water supply problems to invest in the construction of water reservoirs."

"Given its extreme importance, it is necessary to adopt measures aimed at collecting water, storing it and distributing it efficiently and with quality, especially on the islands where water is most scarce," he emphasised.

"As Graciosa, Pico and Santa Maria are islands facing serious water supply problems, both for animal and human consumption, it is essential that farmers on these islands take this opportunity to apply for this PRR measure to build water reservoirs on their farms," he stressed.

According to António Ventura, "support is granted in the form of a non-refundable subsidy, with eligible expenses benefiting from a support rate of 80%."

"Public support for each application submitted is limited to 32,500.00 Euros of maximum eligible expenditure, with the support corresponding to 80%, i.e. 26 thousand Euros," he added.

Opening notice no. 13/C05-i05-RAA/2023 falls within the scope of investment for the Economic Recovery of Azorean Agriculture under the RRP. It provides for support schemes for product innovation and production and organisational processes, the green transition and the digital transition aimed at restructuring farms.

Eligible support includes the construction of water reservoirs on farms; the installation of automated animal feeding and milking systems; the purchase of sensors for detecting diseases in horticultural and fruit productions and drones (unmanned vehicles) for spraying vineyards and cornfields.

According to the Regional Secretary, the RRP budget allocated to this measure stands at four million Euros. Individuals and legal persons involved in primary agricultural production can benefit from the support provided.