The President of the Government of the Azores, José Manuel Bolieiro, yesterday challenged those who work in the business sector and in the milk processing value chain to “keep not just the end product but also the raw material, guaranteeing products with added value, excellence, and unquestionable genuineness.”
“It’s not public policies that develop the Azores, it’s the authors who implement strategic public policies and the dynamics of private business associations that promote development,” he stressed.
In his speech at the opening session of the Barbecue Festival near the Santana agricultural market, at the headquarters of the São Miguel Agricultural Association, the President of the Government began by leaving a message of “hope and confidence,” which translates into the fact that “those who have been able to develop a work of excellence, at the genetic level, in the milk sector” with a high degree of “competitiveness in the national, European and global context,” are also capable of doing the same in the meat sector. “By guaranteeing the genetic excellence of the animal, ensuring that the product is of high quality and then having events that also help to recognize it.”
“It’s not enough to be excellent, and being excellent is already very demanding in terms of the quality of the animal, the quality of the product, the quality of its processing and cooking and even the treatment of the meat. We need to have another decisive element: recognition. And recognition amplified by the dissemination of experience through tasting, naturally, as President Jorge Rita said, the stomach will be the main ambassador for this recognition, because an event of this nature is decisive,” he said, referring to the Barbecue Festival.


José Manuel Bolieiro noted that he had spoken to the president of the Agricultural Federation, Jorge Rita, about holding an annual Barbecue Festival on each of the Azorean islands on the scale of the one taking place in São Miguel.
He said that the government and the Agricultural Federation “are clearly aware that we can boost the vocation of each island through diversification. The Azores, through this strategic unit, have the plurality of vocations of each island: some mostly for milk production, others possibly for meat production and others, in mitigation and complexity, have the opportunity to develop both sectors (milk and meat).” And events like the one taking place in Santana “attract residents and visitors.”
“That’s why it’s so important for us as a tourist destination to promote this in order to attract visitors, because they will be our ambassadors of excellence abroad. Whether it’s in the dairy sector, the meat sector or in general. In all of the Azorean agri-food products, we have credits that we won’t leave in the hands of others: food safety, product excellence, animal welfare, the ability to be biologically genuine, in order to guarantee a much stronger narrative for the new generations that sustainability is important,” said the President of the Government.
“This narrative, because it is true, has to be recognized,” he continued, because, in his opinion, ”it helps to give added value to our product, and the more added value our product has, the more wealth we create, the more employability we ensure, the more prestige we achieve for the productive image of the Azores. That’s my dehydration. That’s the dehydration of the Government of the Azores in the diversification of these products,” stressed José Manuel Bolieiro.
“Within the framework of responsibility for strategic public policies, we have a well-defined strategic orientation. We are not confused. And we have also defined the public support to implement the strategy,” he added. “We have always wanted there to be a trend towards sustainability and progressive food autonomy in the Azores. But there is a national food deficit, as has been said here, for example in terms of meat. And we can create enough production to further enrich our productive capacity and also contribute to the country’s progressive food autonomy. This is important. We will work towards this,” concludes the President of the Government.


The government supports 35% of the purchase of fibrous feed and whey and launched 3,000 suckler cow entitlements.


The President of the Government of the Azores, José Manuel Bolieiro, yesterday announced a 35% contribution to farmers’ purchases of fibrous animal feed to cope with the drop in production of fodder corn and grass due to the drought that has hit the region.
José Manuel Bolieiro, who spoke at the opening session of the Barbecue Festival next to the Santana agricultural market at the headquarters of the São Miguel Agricultural Association, stressed that this support is intended to strengthen the animals’ feeding capacity “so that we have better yields and better competitiveness.”
The Chief Executive also announced that, within a framework of “constant cooperation” with the Agricultural Federation of the Azores, the government services responsible for the agricultural sector are already contacting farmers to guarantee the distribution of 3,000 suckler cow rights, strengthening the meat sector’s path.
“Even if the tourist sector is a lever, it is rooted in our productive economy’s capacity for food autonomy. If this is the case for the public sector, what can we expect from the private sector? Productive dynamics, a continuous quest for excellence, guaranteeing the growth of the Azores,” he added.

in Correio dos Açores, Natalino Viveiros, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.