No one has the magic wand to solve the problem of water scarcity, the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Dr. Maria Panagiotou, said at KYPE, speaking after the ministerial meeting of MED9, in Cyprus which concluded yesterday in Ayia Napa, noting that we have road to travel.
At the same time, he said that once we know the problem, we must act in time to deal with it, and the MED9 meeting exactly sets the framework with which they coordinate at the European level to claim the tools that farmers will be able to use to adapt.
He also noted that Cyprus has specific proposals regarding the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) where it requests 2% of the envelope it has to use this amount for compensation to farmers when we go through crises.
He also said that Cyprus should also strengthen the anti-flood projects and the infrastructure that will be able to provide farmers with access to water so that they can proceed unhindered with irrigation.
Asked to give her assessment of the session held from September 1-3, Dr. Panagiotou described it as "positive", noting that this is the common assessment. Everyone, he said, "those who participated in yesterday's meeting agreed on the importance of the timing of this meeting, this initiative taken by Cyprus, which presides over the alliance for this year".
At the same time, he said, the timing is important as we have the upcoming formation of the European Commission and the discussion that is now starting on the new common agricultural policy and what we want it to include. "Therefore, it is a very important and positive assessment, that we start and coordinate, the nine Mediterranean countries now precisely to have a common position on the common problems they face such as that of drought and water scarcity."
Asked to refer to the joint declaration approved by the Ministers, and how it concerns Cyprus, which is facing such a serious problem, Mrs. Panagiotou said "we are not facing the serious problem alone, all 9 countries are experiencing the effects of the water shortage".
In her statement, she referred to the report of the Greek representative that "last year we had the floods, this year we have a drought" so what the scientists themselves are telling us is basically confirmed that in addition to the reduced rainfall "Cyprus is experiencing the worst year in terms of rainfall" .
Beyond the reduced rainfall, he continued, "the second big consequence we have to deal with is extreme weather events."
“What does this mean in practice? This means we need to continue and prioritize the infrastructure we already have in place and what we are going to build on that. We must of course also strengthen the anti-flood projects, we must strengthen the infrastructure that will be able to provide our farmers with access to water so that they can proceed with irrigation without interruption so that they can have their crops without having a reduced income", he added .
That said, it was also discussed internally and there is a reference in the joint communique that there needs to be an adjustment and “our farmers, our professional farmers are of course adjusting. Some are forced to resort to crops that need less quantities and less need for water."
Dr. Panagiotou stated that what we have to do at the state level, is to provide them with the financial tools and access to knowledge so that they can exactly take advantage of whatever technology is available to be able to adapt their crops and be sustainable . What interests us is the viability of the Cypriot farmer, the European farmer".
When asked how close we are to these goals, Dr. Panagiotou said that to solve the problem of water scarcity "you realize that it is not something that can be done in a day... Obviously Cyprus has infrastructure projects, but other projects are also needed which they must be done. And yes, we have a way to go."
At the same time, however, in addition to the fact that we need a long time to be able to implement the projects that are already in progress and some to plan the next stage, there is also the intermediate stage, the action plan "so that we can face the next months until put into operation those that will bring us to infrastructures in a better position".
"So this is the management we are doing now, this year as Cyprus", said Mrs. Panagiotou, and reminded that "we are in dialogue with our farmers so that they can have more water than what is initially allocated so that we can we have safe stocks, because this is very important. We must not forget that."
The second stage we are working on, he said, "is the coming summer, we are preparing and preparing, considering that it will be equally difficult and the third stage is the projects and infrastructures. Of course it takes time to do all this, But all these stages are done in parallel".
"I repeat, no one has a magic wand to solve a problem like this, but as we know and we know it's a problem that's already here and we have to act quickly to address it and today's session is exactly that the framework with which we coordinate at the European level and the nine countries that have a common problem to claim the tools to be able to help farmers adapt," he noted.
Asked if there is a timetable for taking action, she said that "I have already informed the European Commissioner, and he will pass it on to the Commissioner who will succeed him that Cyprus will submit a request for financial support for our farmers from the agricultural reserve". Reference to the specific amount will be made at the next stage, he added because it is something we are working on at the moment.
Also, the new Commissioner will be informed about the infrastructure projects that we will have to implement in the next period of time.
Dr. Panagiotou said that she will have meetings with the new Commissioner while the MED9 have jointly decided that together we will continue to coordinate in Brussels precisely and in the institutions of the European Union in order to be able to strengthen our voice for the requests we have " and above all the financial support, there are the European solutions, there are the tools and these are what we claim".
He stated that Cyprus has specific proposals and as Cyprus and in terms of the CAP context, "we ask that 2% of the envelope that we have can be used to respond to farmers" to compensate them when we go through such crises .
He spoke of more simplified procedures to have access to technology which is very important, “simplified procedures and more direct procedures and of course a security framework of financial security for our farmers. For this we are coordinating at the state level, but also at the level of 9 Mediterranean states".
Source: KYPE