The government of Nikos Christodoulidis must finally realize that the pre-election period is over, that it governs and that the rural world is no longer satisfied with promises, nor with sympathy, but expects projects and solutions to the problems that are becoming a mountain, said AKEL MP Giannakis Gabriel.
In his speech before the Plenary of the Parliament in the context of the debate on the 2024 state budget, Mr. Gavriel said that at a time when farmers are moaning about the increased costs, the Government and the relevant ministry are content with verbal expressions of sympathy and understanding .
"Any support measures that have been taken so far are only half-measures and piecemeal solutions. And if the Government is not convinced by us, let the Ministry of Finance listen. Which shares the same view that holistic and cross-cutting solutions must finally be implemented to address prohibitive production costs,” he added.
Referring to the halloumi case, he said that "it is, without a trace of exaggeration, a monument to weighty decisions, omissions and illegalities in the last decade".
He pointed out, among other things, that the Farmer's Card announced by the new Government with an advance payment of hectare subsidies at the beginning of the year, alone cannot be the solution, noting that it is necessary, with the decisive involvement of the state, to create a guarantee mechanism for the farmers. This issue cannot be left to the banks.
"Unfortunately, we have before us an administrative budget, a copy paste of the previous ones of the Anastasiades Government, which operates in the logic of creating surpluses from increased revenues due to precision, ignoring the dramatic situation in which most sectors of the primary sector have fallen, without to include neither a comprehensive plan to address the challenges, nor the required structural changes needed to implement a new sustainable development model in the agricultural sector", he added.
Source: KYPE