On October 26, the Auditorium of the Monastery of Ancede Cultural Centre – MACC Baião, hosted the Agro Douro Verde Conversations – Resilience and Sustainability in Rural Territories. This event, promoted by the city council with the aim of fostering dialogue and reflection on the challenges and future of the agricultural and forestry sector, was well attended, reflecting the interest and relevance of the topic.
Opening the session, the mayor of Baião, Paulo Pereira, defended the ‘need to raise awareness of emerging problems and current social challenges’, exploring ‘new paths and defining new strategies to strengthen the resilience and sustainability of rural territories, as well as the competitiveness of the primary sector’.
The mayor presented a comprehensive view of the sector, highlighting its transformation through statistical data, namely the decrease in the number of farms and their workforce in some cases. On the other hand, he highlighted growth factors, such as the increase in the area dedicated to fresh fruit, citrus fruits, vineyards and the expansion of forestry to 6,500 hectares.
MEASURES TO PROMOTE THE AGROFORESTRY SECTOR
Paulo Pereira listed some of the measures implemented by the municipality to promote the agroforestry sector, such as ‘financial support for livestock farmers, the classification of Serra da Aboboreira as a regional Protected Landscape and the acquisition of land for forest management’. Other actions include the enhancement of village agriculture through ‘village condominiums’, the re-afforestation of specific areas, progress towards the creation of a Forest Intervention Zone, and the development of a Biomass Plant to use endogenous resources to produce energy, a project for which feasibility studies have already been carried out. The municipality is also committed to valuing ecosystems, renewing its certification as a Sustainable Tourist Destination, in compliance with the strict parameters established by the certifying body.
The mayor of Baião thus launched some data for analysis and debate, followed by a series of speeches and discussion on multiple topics at the meeting that brought together mayors, association leaders and representatives of regional and national organisations linked to the agricultural and forestry sector. The session included debates on topics such as ‘Adapting to Climate Change; Forest Intervention Zones; the Importance of Local Action Groups in Territorial Development; the Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan and the Region’s Hunting Potential’. Testimonies from local partners and the public were also presented.
At the event, which was also attended by the deputy mayor of Baião, Filipe Fonseca, and the councillor for Economic Affairs, José Lima, several personalities spoke, including Telmo Pinto, first secretary of the Tâmega e Sousa Intermunicipal Community; José Carlos Valente, representing APATA – the Association of Traditional and Environmental Agricultural Producers; Mota Alves, from the Minha Terra Federation; Isabel Santana, from CONFAGRI – National Confederation of Agricultural Cooperatives; Luso Matias, from the Portuguese Monteiros Club; Luís Soares, coordinator of Dolmen – Local and Regional Development; Joaquim Madureira, president of ACRIBAIMAR – Baião/Marco Cattle Breeders Association; Fernando Moreira, president of ANCRA – National Association of Arouquesa Breeders and Pedro Alves, from the Entre Douro and Tâmega Forestry Association. The moderator was José Martino, from Ruris Societate.
At the end of the session, the Councillor for Economic Affairs, José Lima, thanked the participants and emphasised the quality and interest of the interventions, stressing that ‘we were all enriched by this debate’.
