The Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and Food announced today that applications for investments in the wine sector in Portugal, including the Autonomous Regions, with a financial allocation of €10 million, are open until June 9 this year.

Applications may be submitted by individuals or legal entities, whether public or private, who are engaged in or will be engaged in wine production. Support is granted in the form of unit costs, in accordance with the amounts set out in the notice already published. The level of support for investments to be made in the Azores is 75% of the eligible investment costs. The investment limit is a minimum of €5,000 and a maximum of €1 million.

The support provided aims to strengthen competitiveness and ensure the viability and sustainability of wineries through modernization, value creation, and improved product quality. It also contributes to adapting production to market developments, including through storage capacity.

MODERNIZE

The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Food drew attention to “the importance of the support now available to Azorean winegrowers for the modernization of regional wineries and the affirmation of the quality of regional viticulture,” as well as to the “levels of support available to Azorean investors, which are much higher than those applicable in other regions of the country.”

António Ventura said that “the extension of this new support to regional winegrowers is the result of closer collaboration between the Regional Government and the Government of the Republic in the wine sector, which is beginning to bear fruit and which previous PS governments always denied”.

The call for applications is available at (agricultura), (ivv), and (sraa). The terms and conditions applicable to the call already published are those set out in Ordinance No. 198/2025/1 of April 21.

This new support falls under the domain “B.3 – National Program to support the wine sector,” axis “B – Integrated sectoral approach,” of the Strategic Plan for the Common Agricultural Policy for Portugal (PEPAC Portugal).

BAD TIMES

Wine production in the Azores has faced serious problems related to bad weather and pests. Production fell by around 50% in the last harvest, adding to significant losses in previous years. Many producers have expressed their discouragement to the media, possibly leading to them giving up if the poor harvests continue.

In Diário Insular, José Lourenço-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.