In his statements to the Parliament, the Minister said that in some cases the losses were complete and instructions for recording the losses have been given by the Agricultural Insurance Organization (OGA) for the estimates to be made.
According to Mr. Aletraris, for any damages covered by the regulations and legislation of the OGA, compensations will be given as soon as possible, while for the rest covered by the National Support Plan, a record will be made and EU approval will be requested, after which compensation will also be paid.
Mr. Aletraris noted that during the meeting of the Committee there was intense questioning and distrust by some attendees about the role of the OGA, which, as he pointed out, makes its assessments based on scientific data. The Minister of Agriculture assured that there is no intention to devalue the damages or deliberately delay the payment of compensations.
DISY MP Efthymios Diplaros said that the OGA was urgently asked to visit the affected areas in order to record the damage and immediately proceed with compensation.
He also said that in the coming days, bills will be submitted to revise and extend the compensation date for all fruits and to change the compensation threshold.
DISY MP Kyriakos Hatzigiannis said that the experience of recent years has not justified the positions and tactics followed by the OGA. He called on the Ministry of Agriculture to bear the costs of frost protection, so that it is no longer a matter only for producers.
On behalf of AKEL, MP Giannakis Gabriel appealed to the OGA and the Ministry of Agriculture "to proceed quickly - which it has done so far - in assessing the damages and to pay the compensations to the producers as soon as possible".
He said that the damages have already been recorded in the provinces of Famagusta, Nicosia and Paphos.
On behalf of the potato growers, the Chairman of the Coordinating Committee of Potato Growers Nikos Vassilas stated that the potato growers have not yet been compensated for the previous losses of 2009 and 2010.
He spoke of the OGA, which, he said, in consultation with the Ministry of Agriculture, has paid compensation to half of the potato growers, while for the rest the payment of compensation "has been sent to the Greek calendars".
Mr. Vassilas asked the state to come to the rescue so that the potato cultivation can survive.
The General Secretary of Panagrotiko, Nektarios Karyos, said that "potato cultivation will be the 'potato' of the dispute for social peace in the country".
According to Mr. Karyos, next Monday there will be a protest rally at SPE Sotiras, where orders will be given to manage the issue, without ruling out mobilizations.