“Greenhouse crops are the future of the primary sector, in combination with the production of quality and high nutritional value products, they can give a development boost to the agricultural sector, emphasized the Minister of Rural Development and Food Kostas Tsiaras, in his speech at the event on: “Greenhouse and innovation. Cultivating, investing in the future of rural development”, co-organized by the General Secretariat of Rural Development and Food in collaboration with the National Union of Agricultural Cooperatives in Thessaloniki and the Region of Central Macedonia.

Mr. Tsiaras pointed out that it is a central political choice of the government to strengthen the primary sector and especially greenhouse crops, which are at the core of the prime minister’s political choices. “Given the advantages that our country has in this particular sector, the prime minister”, as Mr. Tsiaras, “proceeded, at TIF, to announce the support program for greenhouse crops, amounting to 600 million. euros, at the same time setting the framework and the goal of the program”.

As the Minister of Rural Development noted, there are greenhouse crops that can give up to 10 times more production to the cultivated product, offering, at the same time, more security against the phenomena of the climate crisis, but also more income, since production costs are reduced.

Focusing on the consequences of the climate crisis, Mr. Tsiaras pointed out that the strengthening of greenhouse crops is an imperative, to ensure food sufficiency and to strengthen the exports of our country. He also referred to the strong interest in fruit and vegetables produced in Greece, noting that while in 2019 exports reached 2.2 billion euros, in 2023 they rose to 3.2 billion euros.

“By insisting on the production of quality and high nutritional value products, we can strengthen the Greek brand name and gain a larger market share. Greenhouse crops give added value to our products, making them stand up successfully in international competition,” he said.

Based on the draft of the program that has been announced, investments of farmers, cooperative schemes and businesses with agricultural VAT number are financed, from 30,000 euros to 1,000,000 euros. Investments will be subsidized at a rate of 50%. 35% can come from borrowing and 15% from equity. In areas such as Thessaly and Evros that have been hit by natural disasters, but also in the islands of the North Aegean and areas that are in the process of lignitization, the subsidy will reach 60%. “This is an attractive support program for a crop that is the future of agricultural production”, emphasized Mr. Tsiaras.

The Secretary General of Agricultural Development and Food Giorgos Stratakos referred, among other things, to the advantages of greenhouse crops, especially in the face of the climate crisis and the protection of the environment: “Managing the consequences of the climate crisis requires modern, effective solutions based on science, technology and innovation” he emphasized.

Also speaking at the event were Piraeus Bank’s Senior Director in the Development of Agricultural Sector Activities Yannis Haniotakis, the vice-president of ETHEAS Christos Giannakakis, the head of the Special Service for the Implementation of Rural Development Interventions Dim. Pappas and the main Researcher of the Laboratory of Sustainable Agricultural Constructions and Renewable Agricultural Resources of ELGO-DIMITRA, Giorgos Dinas.

The event was graced by the Deputy Minister of the Interior, responsible for Macedonia – Thrace, Kostas Giulekas, the MPs Fanis Pappas and Diamantis Golidakis, the Deputy Regional Governor Giorgos Kefalas and the Vice President of ETHEAS Andreas Dimitriou.