Agriculture remains the indispensable backbone of the Azorean economy and identity, leaders from both the agricultural sector and the Regional Government declared during the opening of the 22nd Micaelense Holstein Friesian Competition held this week in Santana, on São Miguel Island.

Organized by the Associação Agrícola de São Miguel, the event once again transformed the fairgrounds into one of the Azores’ principal agricultural gatherings, bringing together breeders, farmers, families, and visitors in a celebration that extends beyond competition itself into the cultural and economic foundations of island life.

This year’s edition includes 281 animals, among them 182 Holstein Friesians from 50 dairy farms, as well as cattle from the traditional Ramo Grande cattle breed, Aberdeen Angus animals, and working oxen. The program also features the XVIII Youth Competition and the XXII Holstein Friesian competition dedicated to calves and heifers.

Opening the event were Jorge Rita, president of the Agricultural Association of São Miguel, and José Manuel Bolieiro, President of the Azorean Regional Government.

For Jorge Rita, agriculture remains not simply another economic sector, but the very foundation upon which the Azores were built.

“The great images of strength the Azores possess are all rooted in agriculture,” he said.

While emphasizing the continuing importance of the dairy industry, Rita also highlighted the growing role of beef production, describing it as an “emerging” and increasingly sustainable area of development within the Region.

Particular attention was given to the historic Ramo Grande breed, which Rita described as an element of “extreme importance” to Azorean heritage.

“These animals were the tractors of the past,” he said, recalling the role the breed once played in moving agricultural machinery and shaping rural life across the islands.

Throughout his address, the agricultural leader repeatedly emphasized what he sees as the underappreciated emotional and cultural dimension of farming.

“Those who work out of passion and love for the land do not usually do it for financial return,” Rita observed.

He warned that if farming were driven solely by profitability, the islands would likely contain fewer cows, fewer green pastures, and far more abandoned land overtaken by brush and neglect.

“It is important that everyone understands that the passion farmers have is still not properly recognized in their income,” he stressed.

Rita also addressed mounting economic pressures facing the sector, including rising production costs, fuel prices, and fertilizer expenses, arguing that the Azores should not be penalized competitively because of insularity.

He underscored the strategic national importance of Azorean agriculture, noting that the archipelago currently produces 34 percent of Portugal’s milk and approximately 50 percent of its cheese production.

“These numbers reflect the importance this sector has in the national panorama,” he said.

The agricultural leader criticized what he described as unequal treatment by both the Portuguese Republic and the European Union, particularly regarding recent fuel relief measures that excluded the autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira.

He also defended urgent support for fertilizers and called for reforms to social security taxation aimed at helping younger farmers enter the profession with greater confidence and stability. Access to dignified housing, he added, remains one of the most serious obstacles facing younger generations in agriculture.

Still, Rita acknowledged that several of the sector’s principal demands had already been discussed and partially addressed in coordination with the Regional Government.

Among the measures he praised most strongly was the expansion of corn production, viewed as essential for increasing the Azores’ self-sufficiency in animal feed and reducing dependence on imports.

“People trust this sector because it is irreplaceable,” he concluded. “Agriculture will always remain complementary to every other sector of economic activity.”

Speaking afterward, Regional President José Manuel Bolieiro echoed that confidence, declaring that both he and his government “believe in the sector as essential for the development of the Azores.”

“If farmers trust the sector,” Bolieiro said, “then my government trusts the farmers.”

The Regional President described the competition not merely as a livestock exhibition, but as a showcase for the quality and prestige of Azorean agricultural production, both in dairy and beef sectors.

Bolieiro argued that Azorean agriculture has achieved something remarkable in recent years: “doing more with less.”

For the Regional Government leader, the sector demonstrated its resilience not only during the COVID-19 pandemic — when agriculture continued functioning while much of the economy shut down — but also in the face of climate instability and rising production costs that continue to challenge farmers daily.

“We are not subsidizing,” Bolieiro insisted. “We are compensating the work and excellence carried out for the benefit of everyone.”

The President also announced several concrete support measures, including fuel relief of up to ten cents per liter of diesel during May and June, European reserve funds for fertilizer purchases beginning May 19, and new support programs for the conversion of dairy farms into beef operations on São Miguel, Terceira, and Graciosa. Additional subsidies for corn and sorghum seed purchases are expected during the summer.

According to the government, the area dedicated to corn and sorghum cultivation in the Azores has now reached 14,500 hectares, part of a broader strategy aimed at strengthening food autonomy and reducing external dependence following productivity losses caused by storms in 2025.

Beneath the statistics, speeches, and competitions, however, the gathering in Santana ultimately reflected something older and deeper within Azorean life itself: the enduring relationship between the islands and the land.

In an archipelago where volcanic soil, cattle pastures, mist, and labor remain inseparable from cultural memory, agriculture continues to be more than an industry.

It remains, for many Azoreans, a way of inhabiting the islands themselves.

Translated and adapted from a story in Correio dos Açores-Natalino Viveiros, director.