Prime Minister warns of climate change when visiting damaged crops

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited crops damaged by a recent frost near Spathovouni in Corinth on Saturday during his tour of the Peloponnesian region and stressed the dangers of climate change for Greek agriculture. He stressed that the government should be institutionally prepared in the medium to long term to be able to rapidly confront and manage extreme weather phenomena.

“The framework we have now, the one from our past, does not adequately address the changes that will result from climate change,” he said, referring to the existing agricultural insurance framework that dates back decades.

Mitsotakis also sought to assuage the local producers and mentioned that an emergency meeting had already been scheduled for Monday, including the ministries of Agriculture and Finance.

“During the first days of April we were faced, unfortunately, with yet more extreme weather, a rare frost, that created serious damage in the farming production in many areas of our country” he said when talking to the local farmers and vowed that the damages will be accurately reported and that the producers will be “compensated fast and fairly.”

 He also stated that any proposed state aid will include employees of sectors dependent on agriculture, like agricultural packing plants. [ANA-MPA]