An entire sector, that of the country's livestock production, is suffering incalculable consequences from the choices of the New Democracy government. It is not only the impoverishment of livestock farmers, but also a serious blow to the survival of the mountainous and island Greek countryside and even to the country's trade balance.
At a time when our country's livestock farms, as a whole, feel the noose tightening ominously, mainly due to the increase in feed prices and energy prices, all the interventions adopted by the Mitsotakis Government, presenting them as support for the sector, are literally a drop in the ocean.
The reduction of VAT on animal feed, from 13% to 6%, it has not κana final economic benefit for farmers, and the exceptional aid for feed costs at the rate of two per cent (2%) on the turnover of the year 2021, is rightly described by farmers and their organisations as “crumbs, handouts and tips”, since for those farmers who received it, the amounts are not enough for 5 days of fodder!
As for those who retain mixed agricultural and livestock holdings, but also the poultry and pig farmers of the country, the punishment it came from the DOD and received no aid whatsoever!
The coupled aid for goat and sheep meat (milk), was paid, but with an incorrect representation of the kilograms in ELGO! As a result, many beneficiary farmers were left unpaid, but they were also punished, since OPEKEPE even imposed penalties! Pig producers also recall that they were excluded at a rate of 30% from the exceptional aid to deal with the consequences of the pandemic. As for the cattle farming, support for domestic production is non-existent. And sheep and goat farmers saw Easter to slaughter in Greece lambs from EU countries with a blue stamp!
It is still unknown what else may happen under the seal of the ND Government that will leave thousands of Greek farmers without income and will lead the livestock industry to a total collapse. We hope that they will at least tidy up - even if only to the power of one and a half - the looming mess in the 2022 DAS declarations.
We cannot remain a spectator in the face of the collapse of the livestock sector, which is why we are tabling a question that signed by the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development. Development St. Arachovitis and Ms. Minister Ol. Teligioridou and co-signed by 28 more MPs and councilors of SYRIZA-PS.
Below is the full text of the Question:
Athens, 11 May 2022
QUESTION
To the Minister of Rural Development and Food
Subject: «Insufficient and inadequate support for livestock farming so far»
All livestock farms in our country are in a financial deadlock due to increases, mainly in the price of feed and energy prices. This increase in the prices of all the main factors of livestock production has been going on unabated for over a year and is constantly increasing due to the recent market disruption caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The measures adopted so far by the government of the Southwest are a drop in the ocean and are already considered to be completely inadequate to deal with the problems of farmers, leading the livestock industry to an economic deadlock.
In particular, the reduction of VAT on feed, from 13% to 6%, has no final economic benefit for farmers, since farmers are under the normal VAT regime and the VAT rates of the producers' outputs (milk and meat) to the final consumer have not been reduced.
As regards the exceptional aid for feed costs at a rate of two percent (2%) on turnover for the year 2021 introduced by the Joint Ministerial Decision No 600/102813/2022 (GAZETTE 1852/REV/14-4-2022) «Granting aid to Livestock Farmers throughout the Territory in accordance with Article 61 of Law No. 4919/2022 (Α΄71)» this was not given to a large number of livestock farms since mixed farming and livestock activities, under which many livestock farms operate and especially those that include the self-production of animal feed, were not included, and poultry and pig farmers in the country were excluded since, as sectors, they do not receive subsidies and do not meet the criterion of activating the rights of the Integrated Payment Management System (IPMS). In the end, the euphemistic special aid seen by the farmers who were not excluded was so low that it is described by farmers and their organisations as crumbs, handouts and tips, since it does not even correspond to the purchase of fodder for 5 days!
However, in addition to the structural problems, failures and errors in the payment of the exceptional financial aid and the coupled aid given to livestock production, there was equally poor payment. In the case of the coupled aid for sheep and goat meat (milk), not only did many beneficiary farmers remain unpaid, but OPEKEPE imposed a penalty on them. Specifically, for the payment of coupled aid for sheep and goat farmers, as complained, while the normal deliveries of milk of farmers are shown in the system “Artemis” these quantities are not shown in ELGO-Dimitra. The result is that the farmers appear to OPEKEPE that they have not delivered the intended quantities of milk, with the consequence that OPEKEPE either does not pay the producers at all, or pays them with reduced aid, but also imposes a penalty on them because of the incorrect display of the kilograms in ELGO.
Finally, it should be recalled that the 30% of pig producers was excluded from the exceptional aid to deal with the consequences of the pandemic, while in the cattle sector there is no orientation to support domestic production.
But apart from the payments concerning livestock farming, the government of the New Democracy at a critical moment for Greek livestock farming, with the gigantic cost of production, not only did not «hit» the Greek imports, as it falsely claimed that it would do, but contrary to its institutional moves, it legalized them by baptizing imported lambs as Greek. The legalisation of Greek imports for animals brought to our country for slaughter was done by a decision to mark with a blue stamp lambs coming from EU countries and slaughtered directly in Greece, to the detriment of our farmers.
Because increases in energy and feed prices are out of control, resulting in production costs reaching unmanageable levels and putting the livestock sector in a dire financial situation.
Because all the emergency measures announced to date are full of failures, exceptions and exclusions even of entire sectors of livestock farming and this is due exclusively to the Government's sloppy, totally inadequate and incorrect planning
Because even in the case of coupled aid for livestock production, the large number of exclusions and the errors observed in payment are due solely to the mismanagement of the political leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
Because both the reduction in the purchasing power of the producer and the massive imports left thousands of Greek farmers without income
Because all of the above means that there is a growing risk of the collapse of the livestock sector
Will the Minister responsible say:
- Does it intend, and if so when, to correct the errors and omissions that led to exclusions and exemptions in the exceptional aid for feed costs at the rate of two percent (2%) of turnover for the year 2021?;
- Does it intend, and if so when, to correct the errors and omissions that have led to exclusions and exceptions in the payment of coupled aid for livestock production?;
- What additional emergency aid measures does it plan to support the country's livestock sector generously and directly?;
The questioning Members of Parliament
Arachovitis Stavros
Olympia Teligioridou
Avramakis Eleftherios
Anagnostopoulou Athanasia (Sia)
Avgeri Theodora (Dora)
Aulonitis Alexandros-Christos
Vagena Anna
Vardakis Socrates
George Varemenos
Vetta Kalliopi
Gara Anastasia (Natassa)
Gkiolas Ioannis
Zabeck Hussein
Manolis Thrapsaniotis
Dionysis Kalamatianos
Katsis Marios
Kafantari Chara
Kokalis Vasileios
Lappas Spyridon
Malama Sunday
Mamoulakis Charalambos (Haris)
Constantine Markou
Barkas Konstantinos
Bournous Ioannis
Moraitis Athanasios (Thanos)
Papadopoulos Athanasios (Sakis)
Papailiou Georgios
Perka Theopisti (Petite)
Poulou Panagiou (Giota)
Ragousis Ioannis
Santorini Nektarios
Sarakiotis Ioannis
Skouroliakos Panagiotis (Panos)
Skoufa Elissavet (Betty)
Syrmalenios Nikolaos
Tsipras Georgios
Famellos Socrates
Haritou Dimitrios (Takis)
Hatzigiannakis Miltiadis
Psychogios Georgios
