“The Minister of Agriculture and Sea guaranteed today the amendment of the Council of Ministers' resolution of the 3rd, which establishes financial support for the agricultural sector to mitigate the effects of rising fertilizer costs, in order to include farmers from the Azores and Madeira,” stated the leadership of the Azores Agricultural Federation (FAA), chaired by Jorge Rita, in a press release sent to the Lusa news agency.

According to the statement, the guarantee was given by José Manuel Fernandes following a meeting with Jorge Rita at the National Agriculture Fair in Santarém.

Jorge Rita, quoted in the statement, expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the meeting and stated that support for diesel and fertilisers is "guaranteed," "to be paid by the Government of the Republic at the same time as it is paid to farmers on the mainland."

The leader also noted that the Minister of Agriculture and Sea "was sensitive to the arguments of the Azores Agricultural Federation, with the knowledge of the Minister of Finance, ending the negative discrimination against farmers in the autonomous regions."

At the beginning of the meeting, Jorge Rita conveyed to the government official the dissatisfaction of Azorean farmers for having been excluded from the resolution "at a difficult time for everyone."

This discontent led the FAA to appeal to the Government of the Republic to correct the discrimination regarding financial support to mitigate the increased costs of fertilisers and other production factors.

“It is essential that national unity, equity and the respect that the farmers of the Azores deserve prevail. The existence of first-class and second-class farmers cannot be tolerated. It is urgent to correct this situation, appealing to the common sense of those who govern in the Republic,” the federation's leadership stated in a note released on 8 June.