An investment notice for farms under the Strategic Plan for the Common Agricultural Policy (PEPAC) has been open since yesterday and will remain so for a period of six months, according to information from the regional secretariat for Agriculture and Food.

The total financial allocation is €24 million. Every month, a €4 million notice is opened, with the aim of ensuring speed in the process.

According to Secretary António Ventura, “this commitment represents the implementation of this Regional Government’s agricultural strategy to modernize, simplify, and fairly support those who work the land.”

“The decree relating to this intervention has already been published, and is the result of detailed work with the Azores Agricultural Federation, our decision-making partner in this decree, as in all others that we make available to our farmers,” said the secretary.

According to Ventura, “this close collaboration has enabled us to provide farmers with an investment support framework that reduces bureaucracy and increases support rates.” The secretary is convinced that “this is the best support framework available to farmers since the introduction of EU agricultural support systems.”

Among the “improvements” highlighted by Ventura are “the elimination of maximum investment limits (previously set at 500,000) and the elimination of minimum areas required to purchase certain equipment (provided that the proposed equipment is technically and financially viable, its purchase will be approved).

According to the same source, “it is no longer necessary to carry out complex economic studies, reducing bureaucracy and the costs of preparing the application; there are no longer any ceilings, maximums, or minimums of area that define the exclusion of certain farms from support; once applications have been approved, the first payment requests are facilitated, being made only upon presentation of the invoice, without the need for proof of payment; the maximum support rate increases from 75% to 85%, and “the legislation in force allows support for investments from January 1, 2023.”

In Diário Insular, José Lourenço-drirector.

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