With the commitment that he will seek understanding where it exists and will not engage in games of sterile confrontations, the Minister of Rural Development Margaritis Schinas presented for the first time from the floor of Parliament his own bill, concerning regulations for fisheries, the Schools of Meat Professions, and the Register of Farmers and agricultural holdings.
As he said by way of introduction, what is missing in the country is “the continuity from the European decision to the field” and he pledged that what he wants to leave from his “agricultural” ministerial term is “a system that can stand on its own feet”.
Mr. Margaritis referred to the new Common Agricultural Policy that will determine to a large extent Greek agriculture until 2034.
“When we spoke about it here, a few months ago, the discussion in Europe was just opening. We made a decision from the beginning. Greece this time will not wait until the end of the negotiation to see what the others decided. It will be in the discussion from the beginning, with positions, alliances and proposals. And of course with 20 - perhaps even more - billion in its pocket”.
Therefore, he said, “we began to discuss not only how much money the next CAP will have, but what we want to do with that money”.
He also set out the different model that must be followed in the field of agricultural production: “Greece does not have the luxury of producing less, but it also does not have the luxury of producing as it did twenty years ago.
The world around us has changed. The cost has changed. Water is becoming ever more valuable. Technology is changing the way we cultivate, raise, process. The markets are much more demanding and competition much greater”.
As a major bet he set “that every euro that enters Greek agriculture should return as greater value to the Greek economy” and he placed this logic behind “the new Improvement Plans, the Agricultural Entrepreneurship Fund, the additional resources that we are directing to small irrigation projects”.
As the conclusion of his effort he mentioned “that the producer should earn more because he produces better, not simply because he is compensated more when something goes wrong”.
The Minister of Rural Development dwelt in particular on two provisions of the bill.
“First, we are taking a substantial step for greater security of the producer. When his production is hit, ELGA compensation can now reach 100% of the insurable value of the damaged production, up to 200,000 euros per beneficiary. And we are cutting one more small but unfair cost, the bank commissions for his insurance contribution.
Second, in fisheries we are making a digital leap that should have been made years ago. With the new Integrated Fisheries Monitoring System, for the first time we are acquiring a unified digital picture of activity at sea, with better controls and clearer rules for everyone,” he stressed.