A Visit from the Regional Agricultural Authorities

This April we had the honour of welcoming representatives from Madeira's regional agricultural department to our family's sugar cane plantation and to Safarico itself. The visit was a chance to show how a traditional working farm and a modern tour business can support each other, and to talk about the role small agricultural producers play in keeping Madeira's rural heritage alive.

The delegation toured the plantation from end to end. They walked the rows of sugar cane, some of the tallest on the island, and discussed the growing methods, irrigation, and harvesting practices our family has refined over the years. There was particular interest in how the plantation maintains traditional cultivation techniques while operating as a viable modern farm on Madeira's steep, terraced terrain.

The conversation then turned to agrotourism. Our sugar cane plantation tour brings visitors from all over the world onto a working Madeiran farm, and the visitors' interest was clear: experiences like this keep agricultural knowledge in circulation, create income that keeps land under cultivation, and give tourists a deeper connection to the island than a viewpoint photo ever could. Sugar cane shaped five centuries of Madeiran history, and showing that story first-hand is a form of preservation.

At Safarico's base, we walked the team through how the tour operation works: the 4x4 routes, the small-group approach, and the way our guides weave the island's agricultural story, from vineyards to cane fields to poncha, into every tour. As a family-run business, having both sides of what we do recognised in a single visit meant a great deal.

We came away from the day encouraged. Madeira's future depends on keeping its land productive and its traditions genuine, and visits like this show that the regional authorities take both seriously. Our thanks to the delegation for their time, their questions, and their support for small family producers.

If you'd like to see the plantation that caught the government's attention, our sugar cane tour runs year-round. Come see what five centuries of Madeiran farming tradition look like up close.