Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called a meeting on EU subsidy payments demanded by farmers, his office said. The agriculture minister was due to brief government lawmakers later as the protest continues into a second week.
After farmers in Crete blocked the island’s two main airports for hours on Monday, growers closed the port of Volos for several hours on Wednesday, supported by fishermen who stationed their boats at the port’s entrance.
Volos, one of the main Greek ports, is the key gateway to Thessaly, the agricultural heartland of the country.
State television ERT reported that over a hundred trucks loaded with wheat destined for Tunisia were scheduled to leave on Wednesday.
The region of Thessaly is still struggling to recover from the widespread destruction of livestock and infrastructure caused by Storm Daniel in 2023.
– We are not giving up – 37-year-old wheat grower Dimitris Loufopoulos told AFP during the protest.
– The question is whether we can continue to produce quality (food), whether we can survive in a decent way. This goes beyond Greece, it is a European issue – he added.
Herder Nicholas Vasileiou said the government money is not enough to keep his herd alive.
– We want help to be able to maintain our herds. Usually we should change our profession if we want to be able to support our families – he said.
The conservative government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis has been struggling for months to resolve a farm subsidy scandal being investigated by EU authorities that has resulted in delayed payments to tens of thousands of farmers.
The government has promised to allocate additional funds to legitimate farmers, who are under additional pressure this year due to low prices for their produce, higher energy costs and a catastrophic outbreak of sheeppox.
(Vijesti.ba / FENA)
