Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis paid a visit on Friday afternoon to a plant nursery in Kapandriti, northeast Attica, where he talked with farmers about the government's initiative to support greenhouse cultivations.
The program is budgeted at 150 million euros, he said, while Mitsotakis also discussed with farmers the rest of the measures taken to reduce production costs and support the primary sector.
"I personally believe a lot in the opportunities we have to improve productivity of the primary sector, and the truth is that when they presented the comparative data related to the productivity of greenhouse cultivations compared to regular cultivations, I was left speechless," the PM said. "Therefore, I asked of the ministry to begin immediately a targeted action, which aims at creating new greenhouses, but also refurbishes old ones," he added.
The aim of the program is to upgrade vegetable production, boosting the primary sector and ameliorating the repercussions of climate change. The move to greenhouse production drastically increases the effectiveness of resources such as water and fertilizers, extends the cultivation period, and protects seeds more, in a controlled environment.
Among other issues the prime minister addressed with farmers were funding for the effort (talks are under way with Piraeus Bank), lack of working hands, cost of electricity, irrigation, and taxation, and he explained the measures the government was taken to resolve them.