The Minister of Agriculture of Portugal, Maria do Céu Antunes, made a series of changes in the ordinance that establishes the rules for the implementation of her regime and determined the opening of a new notice (2021-2022 campaign) for the amount of 50 million euros. euros.

These changes are aimed at boosting investments in the wine sector and strengthening the support system for restructuring and reconversion of vineyards (VITIS) as one of the privileged instruments to improve the competitiveness of the wine sector and the quality of its products.

Through the Ordinance published today in Diário da República, the priority criteria include vineyards destined for organic production, producers with family farming status, historic vineyards and projects of national interest (PIN).

There are also a series of other changes that result from collaboration with the sector, such as the possibility of grouped applications, submitted by five or more winegrowers, and the increase in the weighting for beneficiaries without an application approved in the two previous calls.

For the Minister of Agriculture, these investment support measures are essential: “At a time of great uncertainty, the wine sector has shown enormous resilience and adaptability. Despite being particularly affected by the closure and restrictions of the Horeca channel, which caused a decrease in sales in the domestic market, however, it continued to grow in exports, with an increase of 3.8% in volume and 2, 4% in value. We want to continue investing in their growth, their valuation and our ability to innovate ”.

Applications for the Vineyard Restructuring and Conversion Support Program (VITIS) must be submitted through the FIPA website, and their deadline is December 2, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. on January 15, 2021.