The Minister of Agriculture and the Sea, José Manuel Fernandes, argued during the seminar "The Future of Algarve Agriculture in the Next Decade", held in Lagoa on August 28, that water availability and guaranteed stable European funding will be decisive for the future of Algarve agriculture. The government official highlighted the "Water that Unites" project as a strategic and structural initiative to reinforce water availability and create greater predictability for investment in the sector.
The seminar, promoted by the Coordination and Regional Development Commission (CCDR) of the Algarve, gathered about a hundred participants, including representative organizations of farmers, public administration entities, and economic agents. In the opening session, José Manuel Fernandes focused his intervention on the main challenges facing Algarve agriculture, with particular emphasis on water, investment, generational renewal, and the next European funding period, between 2028 and 2034.
The minister also advocated for a seven-year European financial framework that guarantees stability for farmers and companies in the sector, emphasizing the need to maintain a strong Common Agricultural Policy with an effectively European dimension. He warned of the risks of excessive transfer of funding responsibility to national budgets, which could create distortions in the functioning of the single market.
The president of CCDR Algarve, José Apolinário, also argued in the same session the need to ensure a specific response for the region in the next European financial framework, advocating for the allocation of a regional chapter in the 2028-2034 financial framework and the attribution of competences in the water domain to regional agricultural services. The round table "The New Challenges of Algarve Agriculture and its Constraints" featured representatives from FEDAGRI, CONFAGRI, CAP, AJAP, and AlgarOrange, who debated water, investment, access to financing, generational renewal, and competitiveness.
