Portugal's Head of State was sure of photo opportunities down on the farm today as he visited Tavira, conveniently close to his holiday home in Aldeia da Coelha, Albufeira.
Cavaco Silva took the opportunity of a series of farm visits across the Algarve to encourage young unemployed people to go and work on farms for a bit of experience rather than emigrate - and risk getting a job in tune with what they have been studying.
"Agriculture is today one of the sectors that can help Portugal enjoy a rapid recovery," said the elegantly dressed statesman.
The President challenged young people to start working on farms, saying "we need to convince younger people that this can be a profitable activity and that instead of going abroad to try to find a job, they should experiment in agriculture."
The media-sensitive day started at a farm near Tavira where the meeting also was blessed by the presence of the Minister of Agriculture, Assunçao Cristas, herself just back from the Ritz-Carlton in California where she ran up a €20,000-plus bill last week with two colleagues. Cavaco Silva was at the same boondoggle to give a ‘keynote interview’ but manages to rub by on his €10,000-plus a month pensions income, not needing to draw a salary from the state.
During an exchange of ideas with the young farmers of Tavira, Cavaco Silva said he was still confident that the agricultural sector can help reduce the debt of the country and contribute to keeping the trade balance in surplus.
These farmers had the opportunity to reveal some of the problems they encounter in farming such as high production costs, difficulty in marketing the products to compete with other countries, and the delay in any financial return.
After his trip to Tavira, Cavaco Silva was off to Loulé to visit a livestock and dairy unit, and then a citrus farm. Finally he dropped in on some greenhouses in Silves where red fruits are being grown and where he was greeted by jeering and whistles from around 50 protestors who disagreed with the coalition government's idea of running the country.
The President’s exhortation to the young to take to the fields will, if successful, start to fill the rapidly growing void in the number of farmers working in teh Alkgarve, many of whom are leaving the industry due to the new registration requirements at Finanças and Social Security.
Assunçao Cristas’ pledge to help small-scale farmers with this bureaucracy came to nothing as only those earning under €150 a month now are exempt from registration and from payments to social security. The Minister for Agriculture clearly is not interested in hoary old farmers but is very keen on freash young ones with qualifications in agronomy, engineering, biomedical science, pharmacology, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering who are revitalising the industry in a move to avoid unemployment after an expensive education.
The boom of young people presenting investment projects under the Rural Development Programme for start-up grants peaked in 2010 in the Algarve with the highest number of applications coming from the Tavira area, followed by Loulé and Silves.
Citrus is the most popular crop, followed by red fruits such as raspberry and strawberry, subtropical fruits including avocado, and honey production.
This boom is hardly surprising when you appreciate the jaw-dropping amounts of money available under the National Strategic Reference Framework 2007-2014 which has funded 1,500 projects to the tune of €232 million, with 432 of these being projects submitted by young farmers.
