Portugal is launching a new €35 million support scheme aimed at bringing 200 young farmers into the sector, Agriculture Minister José Manuel Fernandes has announced.
Speaking at the first Young Farmers Meeting (Encontro de Jovens Agricultores) in Macedo de Cavaleiros, in the northern Trás-os-Montes region, the minister said the new funding round was designed to be simpler and faster to access, with less bureaucracy surrounding applications.
“We are now opening another new call with the aim of having 200 new farmers, worth €35 million,” he said.
According to Fernandes, the scheme will use simplified costs and reduce some of the administrative hurdles that can delay agricultural investment.
One of the changes concerns water-resource licensing. Applicants will no longer need to have the relevant licence in place when they first submit their application. Instead, it can be presented later, once the project has been approved and the contract is being prepared.
The minister also said rules surrounding the transfer of farms would be simplified so that ownership or management changes can take place more quickly without automatically penalising an application.
Farming population averages 64 years old
The €35 million fund comes against the backdrop of an increasingly ageing agricultural workforce.
Fernandes said the average age in Portuguese agriculture is around 64, arguing that bringing younger people into farming is essential both for food security and for modernising the sector.
“We have to work for food security – food on the table – and that means generational renewal,” he said.
He added that younger farmers can also help accelerate the use of drones, robotics and precision agriculture, improving productivity and bringing new technology into the sector.
Michael Bruxo
Journalist for the Portugal Resident.