The priority of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment is to provide all possible support to affected farmers, the Director General of the General Directorate of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Andreas A. Grigoriou, told CNA, referring to the damage to crops due to very low temperatures.
Mr. Grigoriou stated that "in view of the low temperatures that have been particularly felt in our country in recent days, in the context of the arrival of the bad weather CORAL, the Ministry's priority is to provide all possible support to the affected farmers."
Our goal, said Mr. Grigoriou, is to expedite the assessment of the damages by paying aid to those affected as soon as possible.
Responding to a question from CNA, Mr. Grigoriou noted that since the morning of Monday, February 24, teams from the Department of Agriculture have been in rural areas and are conducting tours for an immediate initial assessment of the damage in the Paphos district and in the other districts, to potato and other vegetable plantations.
Where the provisions of the National Framework for granting state aid for damages from adverse climatic phenomena are met, announcements will be issued and from tomorrow the affected farmers will be able to submit the relevant Damage Declaration forms to the local District Offices of the Department of Agriculture, he added.
Also, as the low temperatures may continue for a few more days, Mr. Grigoriou noted, the situation will continue to be closely monitored and farmers are invited to inform their local District Agricultural Offices, so that there can be a brief assessment of their requests.
Additionally, Mr. Grigoriou pointed out that, despite the difficult water conditions and the very low fullness of the dams, as a result of the prolonged drought, the Water Development Department, through coordinated efforts, managed to provide farmers with the necessary amount of water for frost protection of plantations, through the artificial irrigation method.
Source: KYPE
