St. Arachovitis: The Recovery Fund's support to the primary sector is weak

«You don't listen or don't want to listen to society. Productive stakeholders cannot be excluded from the consultation on the Recovery Fund.» These were his remarks during the debate in Parliament on the Recovery Fund, the Minister of Agriculture, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. Development of SYRIZA-P.S. St. Arachovitis. 

According to Mr Arachovitis, the programme is particularly poor for the primary sector, stressing that emphasis should be placed on strengthening agricultural production, livestock farming and fishing activity, which are the sectors most affected by climate change.

At the same time, Mr Arachovitis argued that the public-private partnership is harmful to the farmer as it increases production costs, while stressing that the priority should be to consult on all proposals for the Recovery Fund, based on the needs of society.

Below is the Press Release for the position of the Minister of Rural Development of SYRIZA - P.S., Stavros Arachovitis in the Parliament.

The downgrading and sidelining of the primary sector once again among the priorities of the current government, underlined the Minister for Agriculture. Development of SYRIZA-P.S. St. Arachovitis, during the debate in Parliament on the Recovery Fund, stating that the aid that will reach producers directly is minimal.

Overall, the Programme is very poor for the primary sector, of only 800 million euros, when SYRIZA-P.S., with a well thought out and costed proposal, had proposed 1.750 million euros. It is particularly poor both for production and for agri-food, which is the driving force for employment, exports and a number of other professions. “It is characteristic that exports set a record in 2018 which was broken in 2019. So there is a momentum in this sector that needs support so that it is not disrupted as threatened by the pandemic.” the MEP added.

The key area where funds need to be directed in order to shield the country and primary production is in addressing the impacts of climate change. Both agricultural production, fishing and livestock farming are three sectors that are directly affected by climate change.

“Let us not forget that we are already living its effects. March was one of the coldest and driest months in recent years, with a major impact on production, which we will see in the coming months,” he added.

Regarding irrigation water management, 31 projects with a total budget of €450 million were included and signed in the Rural Development Programme, just before the 2019 elections. The current provision for irrigation is for a total of €200 million, i.e. half of the money, and this is through PPPs, i.e. private sector partnership. “It's obvious that this is because it increases the cost of production for the farmer, for the end user, when he has to make amortizations to the private person who is participating with his own funds, because the private person is not participating to finance the farmer, he is participating to get his money back, a rate of interest possibly better than he would have had on another investment. So we are opposed to PPPs.” the Mayor stressed.

Above all, however, what is important is to consult on all the proposals for the Recovery Fund, what is needed for its implementation, the strategies to be followed, the allocation of funds, the priorities.

“The opposition, all MPs, and of course the social and productive bodies of the country who live in society and listen to its needs, it is necessary to express ourselves on the direction in which the Recovery Fund will move, especially when it comes to projects that go beyond the limits of a government term,” the MP concluded.