Biodiverse pastures

Contributing to productivity and improving agricultural economic performance: This campaign will allow the promoter to advance the funds approved by the Portuguese Rural Development Program (PDR) 2020 for the installation of permanent pasture and the acquisition of equipment for livestock farming. Ponto Mais Alto's application was approved for contributing to improving economic performance and facilitating the restructuring and modernization of farms, as well as increasing market participation and agricultural diversification. The criteria for its selection were land and plantation improvements, organic production, and family farming.

Sustainable and resilient food production system: Ponto Mais Alto implements the organic production method on its extensive cattle farm. The promoter has an organic farming certificate for the animals and plants on the land. The promoters' farming and livestock activity is based on the implementation of permanent biodiverse pastures with livestock rotation on the land. These elements complement each other and result in various benefits, such as the accumulation of organic matter and better soil health, and better long-term grazing conditions and animal nutrition, due to the diversity of plants. There are currently 150 hectares and 40 animals.

Land reclamation and responsible management: the promoter implements responsible management of 150 hectares of land by restoring land that was previously marginal - that is, degraded to the point of being unusable. Today, the area has been restored and can be used for productive activity. The restoration of the land, in addition to treatments to the land, involves the implementation of biodiverse permanent pastures, which allow for the accumulation of more organic matter in the soil, more and better food for the animals, are more resistant to weather variations and are adaptable.

Ponto Mais Alto es una empresa familiar creada en 2017, propiedad y gestionada por Joaquim Vargas y su hija Laura Vargas.

El promotor opera 150 hectáreas de tierra, dedicadas a la agricultura orgánica y la ganadería extensiva, respetando el suelo y el medio ambiente. La empresa se centró inicialmente en recuperar tierras dañadas por un antiguo proyecto forestal que incluía zanjas de 1,5 metros de profundidad que dificultaban el acceso. En la actualidad, Ponto Mais Alto cuenta con pastos biodiversos permanentes, considerados la mejor forma de gestionar el pastoreo desde el punto de vista ambiental. La rotación del ganado en la tierra permite que se acumule materia orgánica en el suelo, mejorando las condiciones de pastoreo, la salud del suelo y la nutrición animal. El promotor nunca ha talado árboles, siempre ha respetado los cursos de agua para que sigan su curso natural, ha regenerado suelos degradados con zanjas profundas donde la vegetación era susceptible a incendios forestales y ha restaurado edificios existentes, como casas de pastores, muros centenarios y otras estructuras.