Farmers and potato producers left the Presidential Palace yesterday afternoon, securing €4.3 million in financial support, a proposal submitted by the Minister of Agriculture on Monday night.
Outside the Presidential Palace, 70 tractors and 50 double-cab trucks gathered, and apart from minor tensions, everything proceeded smoothly.
Farmers and potato producers sought economic assistance to cover the increased production costs.
It is noted that the protesting farmers agreed to the government’s final proposal, presented at the protest by the General Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Specifically, they were informed about the President’s instructions, according to which, the government commits to provide €4.3 million, corresponding to €6 per acre for cereals and €55 per acre for potatoes.
Additionally, the doors of the Ministry of Agriculture are open to consider the other requests presented before the President.
The primary sectors of the economy are experiencing the impacts of the extra costs created by the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine conflicts, as well as the pandemic, as acknowledged by President Christodoulides in a meeting with them last Friday.
Utilizing all available tools provided by the European regulatory framework to support farmers and livestock breeders within the state’s budgetary framework, the government decided to support the two sectors.
In the initial phase, the Council of Ministers approved the payment of €574,358 for cereals, from the available amount of €1,723,074. Regarding potatoes, although there was a proposal for a €1.3 million grant, no decision was made by the Council of Ministers.
After consultations by the Minister of Agriculture from Monday afternoon until Tuesday morning, modified proposals were submitted by the government.
Initially, the government proposed support for cereals at €4 per acre and for potatoes at €34 per acre. This amounted to a grant of €1.766 million for cereal producers and €1.02 million for potato producers, totaling €2.78 million.
This proposal was not accepted, and new modified proposals followed from the government. The second proposal, which was also rejected by both sectors, involved support of €5 per acre for cereals and €45 for potatoes, totaling €2.2 million for cereals and €1.35 million for potatoes, i.e., €3.35 million.
Minister of Agriculture then made the final recommendation for €6 per acre for cereals and €55 for potatoes.
This support corresponded to €2.65 million for cereals and €1.65 million for potatoes, totaling €4.3 million. Thus, the government proposed a payment of €4.3 million from the initial amount of €575,000.
This proposal did not satisfy the farmers who were outside the Presidential Palace yesterday demanding €10 per acre for cereals and €90 for potatoes.
If the government had accepted this demand at the maximum, an additional €4.44 million for cereals and €2.7 million for potatoes would have had to be provided. In total, €7.14 million for both sectors.
