The measures announced by Mr Prime Minister for farmers, based on the fiscal margins that exist. The farmers they demand a meeting with the prime minister and compensations immediately, as well as effective measures to deal with the high cost of production. According to Maximos’ sources, there is no scheduled meeting of the prime minister with farmers over the weekend, however, the dialogue window is kept open, while the six measures announced will be implemented immediately.

THE Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced six measures for farmers, which the government does not consider “fireworks”, as most of them are either 10 years in depth or permanent in nature. The cost of the measures announced by the prime minister is estimated at 232 million euros, while the reinstatement of the Special Consumption Tax alone is estimated to cost 82 million euros.

The reaction of the farmers was negative, as they believe that the announced measures do not solve the problem. In the assembly held on Friday afternoon by farmers of Thessalypresented their counter-proposal, which will be sent in a letter to the prime minister, requesting:

1) Immediate reparations for the damages caused by storm Daniel
2) Direct compensations for Lake Karla and flood control projects
3)Measures for production costs

They also announced that:

-From Monday, the protests are escalating
– On Tuesday, a nationwide meeting is expected to take place in Nice for further decisions
-Tomorrow in Agrotica the rally

“We’ll stand our ground here in front of the Agrotica without disturbing anyone and we will leave in consultation with the Thessaloniki Traffic Directorate on Sunday 4/2, at a time when we will cause the least possible inconvenience to the already burdened traffic in the city”, emphasizes the farmer from Lagadas, Kostas Paradeisis.

“We are waiting and we want to hear documented solutions and not superficial announcements”, the farmer from Lagadas, Kostas Hatziparadeisis, points out to APE-MPE and adds: “We think they are fooling us, we want real and substantial solutions”. Among other things, he notes that they are asking for agricultural oil at the pump and states that “the return of excise duty on oil does not satisfy anyone in the primary sector”. Indicatively, in fact, he states that for 1,800 acres of cultivation he himself pays an amount of at least 25,000 euros, since he supplies at least 25,000 liters annually. “I have all the invoices and proofs of what I say,” he emphasizes.

“We are not beggars, to be thrown a piece of dry land and run away from the blocks”, points out the farmer from Kilkis, Dimitris Vafiadis, adding “we are professional farmers and we want to stay, but with the costs we have shouldered it is impossible”.

The six measures to reduce the cost of agricultural production announced by the prime minister

-Return of the Special Consumption Tax on agricultural oil for 2024 as well. It should be noted that the measure of the return of the Excise Tax was activated by the government for the years 2022 and 2023 as well.

-Additional PPC discount of 10% on rural electricity from May to September, which are months of high rural consumption.

-Regulation of the debts to the PPC of the Local and General Organizations of Sanitary Improvements (TOEB, GOEB), which currently reach 87 million euros. In Thessaly, the OEB will be abolished and the relevant activities will be integrated into the new Thessaly Water Organization with the state assuming 75% of the debt. In the rest of Greece, the debts will be settled with a ten-year repayment and zero interest rate which will be subsidized by the state.

-In the context of addressing the increased energy costs of farmers, the government will ensure to farmers participating in cooperative schemes (cooperatives, producer organizations and groups, etc.) and to farmers practicing contract farming), a medium-term reduction in the cost of at least 30% over today’s prices for a decade. To this end, it will prioritize and subsidize the construction of solar battery parks that will be made available exclusively to these categories of farmers in the form of long-term bilateral contracts for the supply of electricity. These bilateral contracts, similar to those made with industry, will be implemented within two years of the implementation of the measure.

-For the individual farmers, a new Program exclusively for Farmers entitled “Photovoltaics in the Field”, amounting to 30 million euros, will be launched immediately. At the same time, the “locked” electrical space available as a priority to farmers per DEDDIE substation is immediately increased from 3MW to 6MW (6MW X 225 substations in the country = 1350MW), while the permitted limit for PV of farmers with priority access to ” “locked” space from 10kW to 50kW.

-An important intersection is the Apollo Program, the largest energy offsetting program with green energy in the country. Through tenders we will select mature renewable energy projects, which will be ready within two years. The energy that we will supply from these projects will be intended to cover part of the energy needs of our vulnerable fellow citizens, the OTAs A’ and B’ degree, the DEYAs but also, here I want to stop, the Local and General Organizations of Sanitary Improvements. That is, through the Apollo Program, TOEB and GOEB will have a significant, and permanent, relief from the energy costs that prevent the fulfillment of their key mission but also hinder their development dynamics.