Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis chaired a meeting on agricultural subsidies and the progress in dealing with epizootic diseases at noon at the Maximou Mansion. During the meeting, the planning and the amount of new payments, including the subsidy of fertilizer tariffs, were discussed. A detailed briefing on this issue will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, by the Ministry of Rural Development and Food and the AADE.
Regarding smallpox in sheep and goats, it was noted that a very small number of cases have been detected in the last three weeks, but it was pointed out that it is necessary to faithfully and continuously implement biosecurity measures in order to prevent any reversal of the positive trend towards eradication of the disease. In this context, it was stressed that close cooperation with the police and local authorities has contributed significantly to a more effective response to illegal animal movements.
With regard to foot-and-mouth disease in Lesvos, an overview was given of the support measures taken for the island’s livestock farmers and cheese makers, both in the form of direct payments and compensation and in the form of tax relief. The need to continue biosecurity measures and field surveillance, with a thorough mapping of the spread of the disease, was underlined.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis, Rural Development and Food Minister Margaritis Schinas, Deputy Ministers Yannis Andrianos and Thanasis Kavvadas, and the ministry’s general secretaries Spyros Protopsaltis, Antonis Filippis and Argyro Zerva, the head of the ADSE George Pitsilis, the president of ELGA Andreas Lykourentsos and the head of the General Directorate of Controls, Aid and Payments (DGELEP) of ADSE, Yannis Kavvadas.
