Agricultural policy

Τhe decisions of the EU member states regarding changes in the regulations of the Common Agriculture Policy are a good development, but not enough to alleviate the farmers' concerns of farmers, said Rural Development and Food Minister Lefteris Avgenakis in an interview with state broadcaster ERT.

Brussels' European District faced significant disruption on Tuesday morning as farmers from various agricultural organizations staged a protest against EU agricultural policy.

Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis told Mega TV on Saturday that the measures designed to lower the price of infant formula will begin to be applied in March.

He also referred to the "Field to Shelf" measure and the previous measures for reducing food prices, saying the government was waiting to see their results.

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has been the European Union's key mechanism for pumping funds into agricultural production and keeping it competitive since 1962.

What is the problem with our agricultural economy? If it was only or mainly about money, the huge amount of funding that has flowed into Greece as income support and subsidies for investments from European funds after the country joined the European Economic Community (EEC), would have solved all its problems.

Following an announcement dismissing the government's measures for their sector, farmers on Wednesday elected to intensify their protests and blockades of national highways.

Protesting farmers have agreed to step up their mobilizations across the country by blocking national and provincial roads as well as motorway toll stations from Wednesday.

At a meeting in the town of Nikaia in Larissa, farmer representatives also agreed to organize a tractor rally in Athens next week as well as in other cities nationwide.

The farmers in every EU member-state are on the front line of changes demanded by the challenges of the time. Tied to the land, they are vulnerable to every problem wrought by the climate crisis, dependent on workhands who may or may not be available, while geopolitical events drive the markets which determine production costs and their incomes.

Krakow – Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek was invited by his Polish counterpart Grzegorz Puda to attend a meeting of agriculture ministers within the Three Seas Initiative. The ministers discussed securing feed protein production in the EU and the transition to a green and digital agricultural economy.

Brdo pri Kranju – EU agriculture ministers called for a stronger dialogue between urban and rural areas as they held an informal meeting in Brdo pri Kranju on Tuesday. Slovenia’s Jože Podgoršek said conflicts needed to be prevented with the help of better infrastructure and technology.