AKEL will ask for support to the potato producers from the competent Ministries and Services, said today the General Secretary of the party Stefanos Stefanou, expressing his support to the producers.
In statements during his visit to potato growers' fields in Xylofagou, which were affected by the frost, Mr. Stefanou said that "today in the free province of Famagusta we came to talk to the producers and to see up close the destruction of his potato plantations, mainly due to different weather. We are almost at the end of March and the weather is purely wintery ".
He added that "frosts and the weather in general have caused a serious problem and have destroyed the plantations, so we came to see the situation as it is. "These situations add to the issues of accuracy and the general climate that has long since developed and has become even worse now with the war in Ukraine."
"We came to talk to the producers, to inform us about the situation and at the same time to discuss ways to deal with the situation and above all ways to support them so that they can continue to produce and be in the field of agricultural production." which we know has a lot of problems. "
Answering a question, Mr. Stefanou said that "we express our support to the producers, who are a very tortured group and class of people. We will listen to the problems, we will transfer them to the competent services and the competent ministries and we will ask for support in this world so that it can face the difficulties ".
Asked if he has any suggestions, he replied that "unfortunately disasters are frequent and the peculiarity this year is that this situation is against the background of a general situation in Cyprus and internationally that is not good. "There is a general concern about the prospects of the economy and what the impact will be that will certainly be negative on society, households and the economy."
It is for this reason he continued 'that we must have an individual point of view and a living experience regarding the magnitude of the problems and the magnitude of the damage in order to discuss ways of dealing with them. There are also the traditional ways, procedures and regulations, but where there are special problems, there must always be a special care ".
Besides, Giannakis Gabriel, Chairman of the Agriculture Committee of the Parliament, stated that "unfortunately, we are being verified, day by day. "Apart from the fact that the increased production costs for both stockbreeders and farmers are a given, the icing on the cake came the complete destruction due to the frosts".
We have discussed, he continued, "this issue many times in the Committee on Agriculture, but next Tuesday the issue will be raised again. In other words, both the increased production costs and the grains, the halloumi and the compensations will be discussed today ", since, as he explained," with all that is happening, the producers are not going to survive. "No industry can afford the increased costs."
On the contrary, he continued, due to the extreme weather conditions they are damaged, while especially in the free area of Famagusta the potato crops have been completely destroyed. "We will insist that the state should immediately, away from bureaucracies, strengthen the branches of the primary sector, otherwise we will not have a primary sector," he said, noting that "the message that comes out with the things we saw today is clear."
For his part, Georgios Zorlis, a member of the Cyprus Potato Trading Council, stated that "this is not just a disaster. It's a disaster because it has never happened to me to water the fields for 12 nights in a row to save them from disaster. " He noted that "all the potatoes that have been watered are damaged. The rhizome will be damaged and this will be seen in the coming days, while the other potatoes that were not watered are also damaged ".
He added that "the state and the State must come to the aid and provide financial assistance here and now so that the families can live first and then compensate not from the insurance plans, because these are crumbs. "It's like I want a kidney transplant and you give me a bottle of blood or two serums," he said.
He wants to continue "political decision and see the world, because with the minds we have I see that in a decade, there will be no agricultural or livestock industry in the place."
Answering questions, Mr. Zorlis said that he was not going to let his child engage in agriculture with this data, that his own production was completely destroyed and that from the previous disasters on his plantations he received some financial compensation, which is not enough.
He said he was disappointed to see his efforts wasted, noting that if he did not have help and support from the state he would not plant potatoes again, not because he does not want it, but because the gas station wants its money, the drug companies are asking for their and noted that he has given 18 thousand euros only for seed potatoes.
Presidential elections
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Asked during his statements whether AKEL has decided on the presidential election and whether it says "no" to a possible presidential candidacy of Christiana Erotokritou, as the DIKO proposal, Mr. Stefanou replied that "AKEL will decide for the presidential elections when he is ready and when he will make his procedures and contacts ".
He reiterated that "we are in contact with various parties and when we are ready, we will speak in public."