SUMMARY

A new LEADER II project will establish Angora goat enterprises on existing farming units in a marginal area of Portugal that do not at present have any goats. As mohair production in Portugal becomes established the fibre will contribute significantly to the rural economy of the region. The present project will be innovative in Portugal, in terms of its organisation and objectives, and aims to offset the current problems facing these areas, such as the abandonment of existing farming units, which is leading to desertification in certain rural areas in Portugal. The introduction of Angora goats to the Cova da Beira region will contribute to the diversification of livestock at the regional and national level. This will increase the national production of mohair fibre, in which both Portugal and the EU as a whole are deficient. A group of ten breeders, each starting with twenty females and two males will be formed. The breeders will be linked in a co-operative, which will buy and transform all the mohair fibre produced. To achieve this, the co-operative will subcontract work to textile factories in the region. As the breeders are associated together, they are able to retain complete control of the purchase and transformation of raw material, as well as the commercialisa-tion of the various products, thus benefiting from the added value of the processing stages. This will make a significant contribution to the economic profitability and technical sustainability of their agricultural activities. The project is firmly based on the concept of integration. The encouragement of co-operation, with the use of common facilities (e.g. shearing, technical assistance, etc.) and the synergy of the cooperative will create the necessary economic balance of the farming units and support the systematic and continuous development of quality and efficiency to suit the requirements of the market. 80 L.PINTO DE ANDRADE & J. VÁRZEA RODRIGUE