The Government's strategic goal of strengthening the primary sector through permanent infrastructure, reducing production costs and attracting young people to the profession was emphasized by the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Maria Panayiotou, referring to the innovations of the Major Investment Measure of €67 million.
In statements to journalists, he stressed that the Ministry's priority is also a fair and stable agricultural income, with tools for adapting to climate challenges.
The Minister noted that of the 67 million euros of the measure, approximately 7 million concern exclusively young farmers who want to enter the profession, in addition to the funding they can receive for all other measures.
He noted that the first step is the fact that the investment itself is the result of a broad consultation by the Ministry, both online and with the farmers themselves in person last February in Skarinou.
"We had the opportunity to discuss with them, to give us specific suggestions and where and when it was possible to adopt them. And we did this consciously, because we want the large investment to meet their needs," he said.
Ms. Panayiotou added that the second very important innovation is that only those registered in the Farmers' Registry can participate in the large investment.
"In this way, we utilize the registry, we give it the importance we want it to have, and we urge professional farmers to register precisely so that its utilization can be more correct," he noted.
As he said, the third very important thing is that the large investment is accompanied by a series of licensing simplifications, which was a permanent request of agricultural organizations and the farmers themselves.
"We have contacted both the Ministry of Interior and the EOAs and have issued a specific guide for licensing agricultural and livestock constructions, which, based on this guide, will allow farmers to obtain building permits from the EOAs within 20 days. And this is very important," he said.
The fourth, he said, is that allocations are made by priority and by sector. In this way, he explained, different sectors are given the opportunity to have access to financing, whether they are sectors that have a lot of farmers involved in them, or sectors that have a small number so that everyone has equal access.
The fifth innovation, he added, is simplified cost procedures, which will greatly help in the faster evaluation of applications.
The sixth, he said, is that it becomes mandatory to install rational water use systems on agricultural farms in agricultural units that exceed 25 acres.
The seventh is that for the first time in a major investment, the support for environmental expenditures reaches 80%.
"That is, they will be able to install agrovoltaics, photovoltaics and everything that essentially falls under environmental spending at 80%," said the Minister of Agriculture.
The eighth, Ms. Panayiotou said, is that the amount of the management aid for the management of livestock waste has been doubled and the subsidy increased from €400.000 to €800.000.
The ninth element concerns the effective treatment of production costs, through an 80% subsidy for Renewable Energy Sources, combined with a new financial tool implemented in collaboration with the EAC. Through this, the Minister said, farmers will not have to pay the initial installation cost, which until now has been a significant obstacle.
"This will not need to be done, and it becomes easier to install renewable energy sources. Especially during this period when many people are also using their own wells, if they also install photovoltaics, they will be able to reduce production costs even further," he noted.
According to her, all of this is part of the broader effort and goal to grow the primary sector.
"For us, the primary sector is a priority. We want our farmers to have a fair and stable income and, above all, to have permanent infrastructure that will allow them to respond to the new realities they face with the climatic conditions we have," he added.
As Ms. Panayiotou said, they are given the financial tool to be able to install permanent infrastructure in their units to reduce the need for water, protect their crops from weather events and reduce production costs.
"And above all, through all this, we want the farmer to have a fair and stable income and for the primary sector to become attractive for young men and women to enter the profession," he said.
The Minister of Agriculture said that interested parties will be able to study everything we have that is already online and in September they will be able to start submitting their applications. She expressed the view that this is enough time to make the necessary preparations to submit mature applications and have the results they desire.
Source: KYPE
