“The government of Mr. Mitsotakis wants to buy some time from the farmers, and not to solve their problems,” the president of SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance said on Saturday. Stefanos Kasselakisaddressing representatives of farmers from the blockades and told them that “you are wronged, you have every right to be angry, to be at the blockades”.

In the meeting he had with representatives of farmers from the blocs, in the context of his visit to the AGROTICA exhibition, Mr. Kasselakis pledged that SYRIZA-PS will stand by them in every way in their struggle.

“There is obscenity, stop this mockery” he said, and accused Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of “taking money from the farmers and giving a lot of money to the interests”. “Before the elections, the prime minister was talking about imported accuracy, that he will not allow Greece to become a banana. He calls the country a banana. Before the elections, he was talking about tax reductions, now he is making assumptions,” observed Mr. Kasselakis and continued: “If the government wanted to abolish the special tax on agricultural oil, he would do it. If he wanted to put a ceiling on the price of electricity, he would do it.”

He emphasized, at the same time, the need to “break” the oligopolies and put a cap on profitability, complaining that there are cartels in cotton, milk and other products. He spoke of the impoverishment of the farmers and declared: “We cannot allow Greek men and women to be in resignation. The whole society must stand up.”

“We are at the blockades, not because we are party-motivated, but because we have many problems and we cannot stand one more year without their satisfaction,” said the representatives of the farmers from the blockades.

“Production costs are constantly increasing. The differences in the prices of products from the field to the shelf are so great that we sell cheaply and as consumers we cannot buy the products we produce,” they pointed out.

Regarding the new Agricultural Policy, they said that they have not understood much of what it includes, but they consider it certain that they will have a loss of income, with no prospect of reimbursing it.

They protested the operation of ELGA and pointed out that after the disastrous floods in Thessaly, they asked the farmers to first pay off ELGA so that they could then collect the compensations. They complained that they have a giant propaganda against them and at the same time criticized the government for its policy in the agricultural sector.

The president of SYRIZA-PS visited several AGROTICA stands. Among them the stands of the National Union of Agricultural Cooperatives, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the Democritus University of Thrace, the Agricultural University of Athens, the manufacturers of agricultural machinery in Greece, the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, producers of popular markets, model companies in the agricultural sector, companies with organic products, etc.

Mr. Kasselakis talked to the people in charge of the stands, he was informed, photographed with them, in some cases they offered him gifts, while he also talked to citizens who were visiting the exhibition at that time. At Stand 2, he met and shook hands with the former minister of PASOK, Katerina Batzeli, who was waiting to welcome the president of the party, Nikos Androulakis, who was also touring AGROTICA at the same time.