Visiting the rural development and foods ministry on Friday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced that the new regulations for ELGA, the Greek state agricultural insurances organisation, will be submitted to the cabinet for approval before the end of the summer.
Mitsotakis also referred to the Greek Payment Authority of the Common Agricultural Policy (C.A.P.) Aid Scheme (OPEKEPE), stressing that the farming sector will continue to receive subsidies, but that these will go “only to those who actually [farm].”
Rural Development and Foods Minister Kostas Tsiaras, on his part, said that “the prime minister has given us specific directions that are based on a specific government plan…according to which we must move rapidly in the direction of major changes and reforms.” He also pointed out that the primary sector faces major challenges, such as the climate crisis, increased production costs and the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Concluding, Tsiaras said that the prime minister gave orders “that we should stand by the people of toil and make their lives easier.”
Mitsotakis noted that the ministry had done important work in the last five years, which its new leadership must now continue and accelerate, while noting that the importance of the primary sector is self-evident.
“We have proven in practice that we stand at the side of the people of toil, addressing structural issues that have to do with production costs,” he said, pointing to the new mechanism for the return of the special consumption tax on fuel used in farming and issues relating to electricity for farms. He said that the GAIA programme will be extended and measures have been taken to reduce the cost of fertilisers and animal feed.
“It appears that the problems we face with multinationals in the area of food, we also face in the sector of plant pesticides,” he added, repeating that “such practices will not be tolerated”.
Mitsotakis said that a discussion was held on the opportunities and challenges for the farming sector in the new European cycle. “The green transition is a reality. It must be done quickly, without unnecessary bureaucracy, without suffocating producers and especially small farmers,” he stressed.
According to the prime minister, the big challege was to invest in quality and added value, which would require greater cooperation among farmers, more investment in technology and in the training and education of professional farmers. He also stressed the importance of sound water management and streamlining water usage, saying this was one of the major challenges posed by climate change, while he also spoke of the modernisation of ELGA and OPEKEPE.
“It is imperative to streamline the agricultural insurances mechanism and make it fairer, while the same applies for OPEKEPE. There is a non-negotiable rule for the government. That support and subsidies should go to those that are truly eligible for them,” he said, noting that steps have been taken in this direction.
Mitsotakis said he was optimistic about the future of the farming sector, noting that Greece has its own distinct role to play in the markets abroad but chiefly by providing a decent income to farmers, livestock breeders and fishers.
