The last ten days of October will be the advance payment of compensations for livestock, as he stated the Minister of Rural Development and Food, Lefteris Avgenakis, from the Coordination Office in Larissawhile with regard to the payment of the advance payment for plant production, it will depend on the time of completion of the declarations by the producers.

To date, 18,226 damage declarations have been submitted for crop production and for livestock 1,352 declarations for dead animals and 904 declarations for bee hives.

The deadline for submitting declarations for the loss of plant production is set for October 13, for the loss of plant capital, infrastructure and agricultural equipment, October 20, while declarations for the loss of livestock will be accepted until September 30.

Those producers who have made use of the possibility provided by the law to exempt their production insurance (e.g. pig farming, poultry farming, etc.), will receive support from the Agricultural Reserve of 2023, according to the competent minister.

“I want to inform the farmers, that the government through the supplementary budget, awaiting the approval from the EU for its reinforcement, will pay the required financial resources – in the first phase more than 100 million euros – to cover the compensations” he stressed .

Regarding the management of the dead animals, as Mr. Avgenakis underlined, most of it was collected. In total, about 70,000 dead animals and about 110,000 birds were collected and managed (burial or incineration), while there are still 13 units that cannot be approached.

We succeeded in preventing a health risk from the dead animals, he said.

ELGO-DIMITRA has completed the first phase of its design and to date has received 707 samples for analysis, chemical composition, engineering, heavy metals and microflora control.

As Mr. Avgenakis stated from Larissa, “the first planning is the collection of samples from 350 areas in the Thessalian plain” and he added that the implementation of “a corresponding action plan by ELGO DIMITRAS is expected to start in the Domokos area as well”.

According to him, “the first assessments of ELGO DIMITRA researchers are highly encouraging for the immediate use of the majority of the land, an assessment that is identical to those of the Agricultural University of Athens and the University of Thessaly”.

Regarding the Pagasitic Gulf, the Minister of Rural Development and Food noted that tomorrow, Thursday, the Fisheries Research Institute (INALE) of ELGO-DIMITRA will start monitoring and sampling.

The actions that will be carried out are the following:

  • * Sampling and analyzes of seawater samples at four coastal stations of the Pagasitic Gulf, with shore access, on September 28 and 29, 2023.
  • * Sampling and analysis of seawater samples at three stations of the Pagasitic Gulf by fishing vessel, on October 4-6, 2023.
  • * Sampling and analysis of seawater samples at seven “open sea” stations in the wider area, from September 28 to October 2, at the borders of the country’s territorial waters.
  • * Sampling and analyzes of biological and non-biological samples at ten stations, with shore access, 10 to 25 October.

As he said, the first results of field measurements – laboratory analyzes will be announced within the first week of October 2023.

“Regarding the catch of the Pagasitic Gulf, we inform you that there is no question of consuming it, because the flesh of the fish is free of microorganisms as long as the fish is alive. Therefore, there is no reason to ban fishing and worry about food safety,” said Mr. Avgenakis.

From Monday, September 18 and until Tuesday, September 26, EFET carried out 168 inspections, among others in places of feeding and catering businesses of flood victims including NGOs, school canteens, cheese factories, meat processing facilities, mass catering, butchers and due to the emergencies conditions, the inspections were of an advisory nature and no fines were assessed for non-compliance.

Speaking about the kiwifruit producers, Mr. Avgenakis said that after requests from the Larissa PE Municipalities for an exceptional kiwifruit harvest and taking into account the special conditions in which the cultivation of the product has fallen due to the bad weather Daniel, an order was given for the immediate issuance of a circular regarding with the exceptional harvest of kiwifruit in said Regional Unit.

He stood for the establishment of a Special Committee of representatives of the Beekeeping Associations of Thessaly, which will aim at the fastest payment of compensations and dealing with the problems arising from the bad weather Daniel.

He announced an aid plan using de minimis for fishermen in Larissa and Magnesia, while during his visit to Pelion, the competent minister found serious problems in the possibility of harvesting apples, but moving them from the fields to the collection centers, arguing that the apple producers will be supported through ELGA.

Mr. Avgenakis referred to the payment of the first installment of the runner-up young farmers which started yesterday, while by the end of October it is expected that all of the approximately 2,100 new beneficiaries of the measure will be paid. He reminded that following his order, a six-month extension will be given to the co-financed programs of the Rural Development Program (RDP).

Finally, he announced the increase in scoring in the next programs for the regions of Thessaly, Fthiotida, Evros and Rhodes, while there will also be provision for increased funds in the Improvement Plans that have been submitted for evaluation by the specific regions.

On his part, Mr Commander of the 5th Health Region, Fotis Seretis reported that in the last 24 hours a total of 1219 arrivals have been recorded at the TEP of the health units, of which 28 with gastrointestinal infection and 97 with respiratory infection. From the controls it emerged that 44 had a positive test for coronavirus. As he stated, 8 new hospitalizations due to gastroenteritis and 17 due to respiratory system infection have been recorded in the last 24 hours.

There is no influx of gastroenteritis cases in the areas under surveillance, he stressed

Also, no new confirmed case of leptospirosis was diagnosed. To date, 5 cases of leptospirosis have been confirmed, while another 17 are under investigation.

Regarding vaccinations, the vaccination campaign against tetanus and hepatitis A continues in the region of Thessaly. A total of 1542 vaccinations have been carried out against tetanus and 131 vaccinations in children of special populations against hepatitis A.

No new cases of West Nile virus infection were diagnosed. So far, 9,000 mosquitoes have been identified in 90 sampling stations. Given the circulation of the virus in the area, the population is advised to take the necessary protective measures. Controls continue in the water supply networks and in the last 24 hours there were 1144 missing samples.

Where there are swimming beaches with visible pollution, swimming should be avoided, said Mr. Seretis.