“We are not opposite. We are on the same side of the river and as a government we strive for the good of farmers, dealing with their problems at the local, national and European level”, said the Minister of Rural Development and Food Lefteris Avgenakis, from Heraklion, Crete, in a meeting with the agricultural agencies of Crete.

Following the initiative of the Ministry of AAT, a broad meeting was held with representatives of farmers, breeders, beekeepers and fishermen from all over Crete, at the Chamber of Heraklion.

“Dialogue is continuous, because only through it problems can be solved”, the minister emphasized, recalling that he visited the blocks in Domoko and Kastro Boiotia in the previous days, tomorrow he will visit Komotini to meet farmers’ delegations at their request , while the meeting with the prime minister will take place on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the government recognizes the problems of farmers and that interventions must be made both in terms of revising the CAP and reducing labor costs.

“I will fight as much as I can, as much as I can. Rest assured that I will exhaust all the tools that have either been forgotten or should be created for the good of the primary sector,” he added.

He also put on the table the measures taken by the government to ease taxation for farmers, such as the reduction of VAT for the purchase of agricultural machinery from 24% to 13%, reduction of the VAT for the purchase of fertilizers and animal feed from 13% to 6%, repeal of the SYRIZA law on taxing subsidies from the first euro, repeal of the Katrougalou law that linked the insurance contribution to income and return of the EFFK to agricultural oil (160 million euros in the two previous years and 82 million euros in 2024). In this context, he asked the representatives of the agencies, if they have proposals for a better way of distributing these funds, to submit them.

The Minister also referred to the imminent creation of agricultural departments in the country’s Chambers of Commerce. The aim is to have the possibility of recording the real forces involved in the primary sector, as well as to evolve the already existing register, which is incomplete in information.

The relevant HYPAAT bill is already being discussed in the Parliament’s Production and Trade Committee and is expected to be voted on next Tuesday. One of the provisions concerns the establishment of a School of Butchers that will operate based in Heraklion.

OPEKEPE is not a wild vine

“I said that this abscess of OPEKEPE must end, this is already happening. It is not an unopened vine for any company. OPEKEPE will become a model mechanism that will only work for the benefit of the beneficiaries”, noted the Ministry of AAT, reiterating the Organization’s payment schedule:

– Until the middle of February, the 2023 Single Application for Grants will be reopened for corrections both in the EcoSchemes and in general, while before Easter the payment of the unallocated funds amounting to 88 million euros together with the 425 million euros for the Ecological Schemes.

– Within April, 245 million euros will also be paid regarding the linked aids, while in March the IACS 2024 declaration reception platform will be opened.

– With regard to the 16,000 reserved VAT numbers of producers, OPEKEPE has already started the control to declassify those that are formally in order, while any irregularities found will be taken to Justice.

With reference to the new regulation of the ELGA, he said that the goal is to leave no one uninsured and there will be mandatory insurance and then optional risks. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications requested that, by February 15, proposals be submitted so that ELGO DIMITRA can function properly and remuneratively.

He also emphasized the need for changes to the CAP and cited the 6 changes submitted by our country, for which there was informal information that they have been accepted.

On Friday, the opening of the Aquatic Wellbeing Center

The minister announced that next Friday, in the presence of the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakidou, the inauguration of the European Reference Center for the Welfare of Aquatic Animals, which will operate in the form of a joint venture under the University of Crete, will take place.

Responding to issues raised by the bodies present regarding the absence of Interprofessional Organizations, such as for olive oil, the Minister noted that he considers their creation very important and invited them to initiate what is required in order to set up Interprofessional Organizations, of all products produced by Greece and Crete, on the path shown by the European Union.

The Minister warmly thanked the farmers of Crete for the trust they show in practice in the leadership of the Ministry of Rural Development and Food and in the government as a whole.

The meeting was attended by, among others, the Secretary General of the FSA Giorgos Stratakos, the vice-president of OPEKEPE Lefteris Zervos, the vice-president of ELGO DIMITRA Nektarios Vidakis, the regional governor of Crete Stavros Arnautakis, the vice-regional governor of Rethymno Michalis Vamvoukas, the president of the Chamber of Heraklion Manolis Alifierakis, the president of the Chamber of Rethymnon Giorgos Giakoumakis, Yiannis Glentzakis member of the Board of OPEKEPE as well as representatives of the local government.

The following is the statement of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Lefteris Avgenakis on camera:

“Through the dialogue we certainly all become wiser and the winners are the people of the primary sector, whom we serve with reverence and respect. Not just me, but the entire Government and the Prime Minister himself. After all, we have declared it: We are not opposite, we are on the same side of the river and we strive for the best. For the betterment of people who work under adverse conditions. We know very well the particularities, the difficulties, the problems they face both locally and nationally but also on a pan-European level.

That’s why we work in concert, all together. Today, we are holding a very interesting meeting with the representatives of farmers, breeders, fishermen and beekeepers from all over Crete. And we will continue the dialogue tomorrow in Komotini, yesterday we were at the block of the Boiotia Castle and of course the meeting with the delegation of the “Coordinating Blocks” will follow with the Prime Minister, on Tuesday at noon. But I repeat and I will say it for the umpteenth time. Most things can be solved through dialogue and joint effort, and here we have nothing to divide.

The Government’s intentions are clear. And improvements in the CAP must be made, and serious interventions so that life, everyday life is improved and the cost of living of farmers is reduced. That is why we move in concert. And as long as the economy is developing and developing well, we are even more optimistic about the next steps, about the next brave steps of the Government, in favor of the farmers, breeders, fishermen and beekeepers of our country.

The message that goes out from Crete is that the problems are real, there are particularities from region to region, it is true. However, the major problems concern the farmers of all Europe as a whole. But, at the same time, we do not forget the particularities of each region. That is why we work on both levels.

We have announced immediate interventions. We have announced them a few days ago at Agrotica, regarding the OPEKEPE, the payments that must be made, the planning that has been done and that was announced and we will repeat it today, regarding the new ELGA Regulation, in what concerns a series of improvements that either as a unit, a country, a member state of the EU we have achieved at the level of the CAP, or what we strive for and what we have achieved so far at the level of cooperation of the 9 countries of the Mediterranean, Southern Europe. This effort, I repeat, does not stop, it continues. And every discussion always has something good to add.

I want to say a big thank you from the bottom of my heart to all the farmers of Crete. Because in these difficult times, with their attitude and behavior they have shown practical trust and support in the leadership of the Ministry and in the Government as a whole. We are here to fight for their just demands, to correct distortions of the past and we aim to make the agricultural sector of the country and of Crete better and prouder”.