The installation of agro-photovoltaic systems on agricultural land and the need to ensure both an additional income for farmers and the continuation of the cultivation of fertile land, was today at the center of the debate of the Parliament's Agriculture Committee.
In his statements after the session, the President of the Agriculture Committee, Giannakis Gavriil, said on the issue of the installation of photovoltaics on fertile agricultural land or in areas of cultivation, that unfortunately today they were informed that it has not been published since November, when it should have been, the new order for the installation of agro-photovoltaics.
The Commission, he said, was informed after requesting a timetable, that the new order will be published by the end of January for the installation of agro-photovoltaics on agricultural fertile land, while he emphasized that the aim is to protect this land as well as the primary sector.
"If we continue to install photovoltaics without any control, without any consequences for those who are illegal, instead of eating what we should grow, we will eat photovoltaics," he said.
He added that the Commission asked the Ministry of Agriculture to deliver the new mandate to it before it was published, so that they could examine its content.
He also stated that they requested, as members of the Agriculture Committee, that all permits for the installation of photovoltaics be suspended until the new order is issued, and they expect that this request will be respected, so that there will be no new ones.
The MP for Environmentalists Charalambos Theopeptou expressed his disappointment at the fact that the Committee heard that agricultural and livestock organizations had not been invited by the Ministry of Agriculture to discuss the issue of agrophotovoltaics.
The effort, he said, is so that a farmer can have an additional income by using photovoltaics without affecting agricultural production. He emphasized that the program of installing photovoltaics on agricultural land should ensure the continuation of cultivation and not abolish it.
The General Director of the Ministry of Agriculture, Andreas Grigoriou, stated after the session that the position of the Ministry is that photovoltaic systems should not be installed in fertile, fertile and irrigated areas of cultivation. For this, from 2022, the Ministry has prepared a plan for the installation of agro-photovoltaic systems that will allow the cultivation of land and the simultaneous installation of photovoltaics so that there is an additional income for farmers and an increase in the contribution of RES to energy production.
He said that criteria have been prepared which determine the characteristics of these systems, such as for example having a certain altitude, so as to allow the parallel cultivation of the land.
The Ministry's position, he then stated, is that with the installation of these systems, it is ensured that farmers will be able to cultivate and it will be dual-use agricultural land.
He said, answering a question, that in the next session of the advisory committee, agricultural organizations will be invited to participate. We all recognize that it is a positive action with a double or even triple benefit, he said and emphasized that the licensing conditions should be ensured.
Source: KYPE