The protest has been planned for 12 days despite the meeting they had with the President of the Republic
By marching and gathering outside the Presidential Palace, with their tractors and double cabs, the potato and grain producers are protesting, among other things, the increased cost of production, which they say is unaffordable due to the prices of oil and electricity, as well as because they “cannot bear” to continue their crops.
In his statements to KYPE, the representative of the potato producers Andreas Karios said that the protest has been planned for 12 days despite the meeting they had with the President of the Republic , because the situation is difficult and farmers cannot cope with the increased production costs.
“We had a meeting with the President and he promised us that he would satisfy us to a great extent and he would inform us with the Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture Andreas Grigoriou, but this did not happen and that is why we are proceeding with our protest,” he added.
In the memorandum that will be submitted to the President of the Republic by the potato producers and grain producers, the issues raised are income support due to increased production costs and the immediate payment of the exceptional subsidies of the agri-environmental measures to the beneficiaries by the Cyprus Agricultural Payments Organization (KOAP), something that is delayed, they report.
They also request the withdrawal of the letters from KOAP so that the advance payment of subsidies can proceed smoothly.
Another serious problem, they note, is the ongoing drought, for the effects of which they demand immediate compensation.
They also demand modification of the framework for better compensation of farmers.
An issue that is of immediate concern to farmers due to the drought is the “overcharging of water from the South Pipeline”, a situation for which they are asking for solutions.
As explained by Mr. Karios, “in order for producers to be able to drought that we have, they were forced to use more water than they have been approved for, which they are charged with a 45 euro fine per ton from the Southern Pipeline”. tells him that she is “useless and without object”.
“If we, as a farming movement, want to be serious and persuasive, we should not, when we agree and when we receive promises at the highest level, from the President of the Republic, suddenly take to the streets, blackmailing and without respect for the institutions,” he added.< /p>
As EUROAGROTICS, the announcement continues, we believe that with the proposals made, the two branches of agricultural activity, grain and potatoes, should have been completely satisfied.
to show understanding to the fact that there are other branches of the agricultural economy, which have much higher costs than the two above, and to support them”, he concludes.
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