It is a heavy climate in the rural world after Monday's meeting, May 18th, that the EOASNL delegation (Union Federation of Agricultural Associations of Larisa Prefecture) had in Athens with the new leadership of the Ministry of Rural Development.
According to what is reported by farmers, even the Minister for Rural Development himself seems cautious as to whether the payment schedule presented by AADE will be respected.
As he argued, speaking to reporters, the spokesman for the United Federation of Agricultural Associations of Larisa Prefecture, Socrates Aliphatira, the farmers left the meeting completely disappointed, since they received no clear response to the problems posed to him.
The Minister also stated that the 160m euros, which should have been allocated to cotton and wheat (80m euros) but also livestock (80m euros), as the Prime Minister had announced, have a problem with how it will be paid through ecological schemes, which the Agricultural Type has constantly reported.
For the de minimis in the midfield, which had promised the payment last February and then said about May, now it will go for June. Nothing new on de minimis in rice.
He also said that the main concern of the government and the YPAT at the moment is the EU's accreditation of the EU.
The EOASNL communication on the meeting reads:
At the meeting we raised basic problems and demands concerning farmers and farmers in the county and the whole country. We received no substantial response from the Ministry except for general promises or repetition of the payment schedule announced in the Minister's joint interview with AADE. Payments that have already been delayed and are not sure that they will be made on the schedule as the AADE has not yet received certification as they have pointed out.
The Minister did not sit down to discuss our demands and give specific answers for each of them as they were due. In his general position he told us that he has only 35 days at the Ministry who found it in a state of dissolution and that weaknesses of 7 years cannot be solved in a few days. That he himself has an expiry date for 4 to 8 months and the main concern right now is the certification of the AADE.
But the Government has continued, the Ministry has dynamic and service factors that have continued and the demands that we have already put them in meetings with its previous leadership and should have been answered and resolved.
First of all, we have raised the issue of petitions and criminalization of our struggles by asking that there be a decision of the House on the limitation of offences as we fight for our industry and our survival. The same procedure has been done through Parliament 3 times in the past for mobilisations.
We have raised the issue of the 160 million euros we have won in the blocks and should have been given to cotton, wheat, livestock. We have been told that it has stumbled on how it will be given through ecological schemes with which we disagree. A payment schedule was not even mentioned and it has already been four months.
Also for the sums unduly paid which AADE is asking farmers and the fact that we cannot check whether it is true and to what extent it is asking without paying farmers the money they are entitled to.
The issue of the 130 million that will not be given since this year to organic farming and beekeeping and referred the matter to AADE.
The issue with de minimis in the midfielders who had promised payment and a low amount for February and now discuss it for June as well as what will happen with the labels that have been valid since 2025 rather than for earlier years on the clover and said they were first heard about this issue.
We also raised the issue with thousands of tons of Vikos livestock which, due to smallpox, remained unwell in the warehouses while in a few days the new production comes out and we asked them to join the de minimis for compensation.
The risk of remaining unpaid thousands of producers from monitoring, agrisnap and the actual blackmail made by producers to make themselves thousands of acres of crops or risk losing all subsidy and last year's and 2026. No substantial response, «muga in the struga».
Promises of support for livestock farming and a programme for the free reconstitution of herds were forgotten after asking farmers with dead animals to apply for loans at 4% interest rate from Piraeus Bank for the reconstruction of their flocks. We have also made the request for support for feed and livestock farmers who have huge costs of production from their confinement and colleagues who are taken to the autonomic site if they take their herds out of the corral. They only said they would give from the de minimis feed but without a clear timetable.
We have raised the issue of the cherries of Agia to be compensated by the ELGA as personalised estimates have been made in accordance with its rules and as it was a commitment of the previous leadership of the ministry and the President of the ELGA. Apparently they don't want to implement it but give some crumbs through an ad hoc program.
However, the 2025 ad hoc programme for ice in the proanthetic stage and in dry thermal phenomena has still not been decided, the dossier of the corresponding products has not been submitted a year later, we have asked for the inclusion of cherries, apples, pears, chestnuts, nuts for the prefecture and overall. It has been said that the ad hoc will soon be given without a timetable clear and no amount has been said since no dossier has yet been filed. So direct payment is a word of air.
On the subject of bearing materials in the fields by Daniel with hundreds of producers and thousands of acres not being paid on the responsibility of the ministry and a mistake in the statements at the KYD in 2024, we received no reply or commitment except that they know the problem after we had set it before.
On the question of the restoration of the plant capital, we were told that they have signed KYAs that are in the Ministry of Finance for signing with which they give as the deadline on December 15, 2026 to fund facilities in trees and vineyards. We stressed that due to the restructuring of the vineyards there are no nurseries to be sown now and that the trees are sown January and February and we requested an extension of the measure until May 2027, there was no response.
On the subject of the bulging in almond trees, the dry sticks in peaches which, after an inspection, we put it for compensation and measures to deal with, as did our colleagues from Pella, Naoussa and Eordaia, put it, no substantial answer from the Minister.
We raised a number of other issues to which we still had no answer. For the massive increases in oil and fertilizer. We presented them with PPC's bill with the new invoice decided on the roadblocks in which 60% of the kilowatts were charged with 0.085 minutes and the remaining 40% to 0.098 minutes, said surprised and that they do not know why it happened, we gave them the bill to investigate it. We raised the matter of e-mails from the field, no response.
The issue of transporting land workers to the fields, as there were instances of fines for being transported in agricultural cars, said it was a matter of Thessaly District.
The issue of unpaid colleagues from Daniel 3.5 years later, no answer and timetable or the outstanding files that exist and are at risk of beneficiaries being unpaid.
For Elassona apple producers who had for no reason taken half of the de minimis but also for organic apples to join the ad hoc due to rainfall and prolonged moisture.
EOASNL is not going to stay with its hands crossed to see the destruction of producers. We call on our colleagues to compete despite the difficulty we are at the heart of the growing season. We know very well that what we conquered was with our struggles and mass participation.
Αποφασίσαμε να πραγματοποιηθούν συσκέψεις για ενημέρωση των συναδέλφων μας για την συνάντηση και να συζητηθούν σκέψεις και προτάσεις για την διεκδίκηση λύσεων στα αιτήματα μας και άμεσων πληρωμών. Την Τετάρτη (20/5) στις 8.30 μ.μ. στο Δημαρχείο Ελασσόνας. Τη Δευτέρα θα γίνουν συσκέψεις σε Πλατύκαμπο, Τύρναβο, Φάρσαλα και θα αποφασιστούν και για τους υπόλοιπους Δήμους του Νομού.
