Despite the difficulty observed in the tenders to secure additional fire-fighting aircraft, within the next few weeks, the Forestry Department will be in full operational readiness to deal with forest fires and prevent disasters such as last year's in mountainous Larnaca and Limassol, estimates the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Costas Kadis. In an interview with the Cyprus Times, Kadis referred to the actions being taken to enhance the level of preparedness at all levels to deal with disasters caused by fires. He also talks about the measures being taken to address grain shortages due to the war in Ukraine, refers to the projects envisaged by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RSP) and welcomes the activation of the informal bi-communal group on halal by the Commission. What is the reason for this dystopia?[/B][/P]I will answer starting with the second part of your question. The difficulty in finding the necessary airborne fire-fighting equipment is due, first of all, to the excessive increase, also due to climate change, of forest fires in recent years and the resulting very high demand for airborne fire-fighting equipment worldwide, with the result that the needs of the market cannot be met. Moreover, this year presents additional peculiarities, since Russia's invasion of Ukraine has, among other things, reversed practices that had been applied by the Republic of Cyprus for the previous twenty years, such as the rental of Russian fire-fighting helicopters. This year, due to the sanctions imposed by the EU on Russia, this was not possible.
As regards the first part of your question, I would like to point out that, despite the fact that the tenders for the rental of two planes and two fire-fighting helicopters were announced in good time, they were twice unsuccessful. Therefore, we have put in place "Plan B", which provides for competitive bidding/negotiation with the entities that expressed interest in the above tenders but for whatever reason did not submit a bid. Through these procedures we estimate that four aircraft will be secured by the beginning of June, which will further strengthen the fleet of airborne firefighting assets, so that it will be possible to deal with extreme situations that may arise during the warmer months ahead.
The next few months will mark one year since the deadly fires in mountainous Larnaca and Limassol.
The next few months will mark one year since the deadly fires in mountainous Larnaca and Limassol. As far as your Ministry is concerned, can you say that the services are ready to deal with such disasters?
Thank you for this very important question, which gives me the opportunity to describe in detail all the actions we are taking in the direction of fire prevention and suppression, a burning issue of great concern to the Government. I expect that, despite the difficulties encountered in the aforementioned tenders to secure additional airborne fire-fighting equipment and before the hottest months of the fire season, within the next few weeks, the Forestry Department will be in full operational readiness to deal with forest fires and prevent disasters such as the one we unfortunately experienced last year. To achieve this goal, we are moving in three different directions.
First, the adequacy of flight assets, through ensuring the full and continuous operational readiness of the flight assets we currently have at our disposal, the arrival of two firefighting planes next week from Spain and the securing of four additional flight assets through the procedures I mentioned earlier. In this way I expect that we will have at our disposal, in a very short time, a sufficient number of primary flight assets. To these means of flight will be added a helicopter to be made available by the CCSED and one by the police.
The other direction in which we are moving concerns the adequacy of personnel, infrastructure, equipment. In this regard, I would like to note the positive response of the Ministry of Finance to the vast majority of the proposals submitted by our Ministry to strengthen the Forest Department in terms of manpower and infrastructure. For example, we are currently completing the recruitment process for 110 forest firefighters and 52 forest officers. I also believe that within a few days the pending issue regarding the request for the creation of new posts of forestry officers, for which there is a labour dispute, will also be settled. Consultation is under way with the Ministry of Finance and I believe that we will have developments within the week, so that this issue will also be resolved and that any issue of overtime and on-call time will not arise. The Department has also, as it does every year, proceeded to maintain the fleet of fire trucks and equipment so that they are fully prepared in all forest areas. Forest roads and fire lanes were also maintained. At this point, I would like to note that the Forestry Department, in recent years, has been substantially strengthened and this is demonstrated by its annual budget, which from 2016 to date, has increased by 40%. Nevertheless, we are not complacent, and we have already included in both the Recovery and Resilience Plan and the national budget significant funds for additional support to the Department.
Finally, several actions are also being taken at the level of fire prevention and public awareness. To this end, preventive and preparedness measures are being taken for rapid intervention and suppression of fires. In fact, within the framework of the Forest Protection Week (23 to 29 May), the Forestry Department will organise the exercise HEFAISTOS, with a scenario of forest fire initiation and involvement of all forces-agencies taking part in actual forest fire incidents. Also the Forestry Department is in close cooperation and consultation with all stakeholders Fire Service, Civil Defence, Game and Wildlife Service, Provincial Administrations, Police, National Guard, Meteorological Department, etc. for better coordination on all issues related to fire prevention and suppression on our island. We are also continuing our actions to educate the public about the problem of fires.
Considering all the above and answering your question, I believe that, yes, our services will be at a very high level of preparedness.
Cyprus like many other countries, almost on a global scale, is affected by the shortage and appreciation of grain caused by the war in Ukraine.
Cyprus, like many other countries, almost on a global scale, is affected by the shortage and appreciation of grain caused by the war in Ukraine. In a first reaction, the Council of Ministers decided to purchase thirty days' worth of barley and maize stocks to deal with the shortage and price increase. Do we have sufficient quantities?The shortage and rising price of cereals is a global phenomenon that adversely affects Cyprus and especially the livestock sector. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, we as a State acted immediately to ensure stocks of barley and corn sufficient to meet Cyprus' needs for 30 days, with the approval by the Council of Ministers of an 18 million euro allocation. So far, the market is self-regulating in terms of sufficiency. The Ministry is closely monitoring the situation and if any possibility of shortages becomes apparent, the necessary measures will be taken, such as the disposal of the guaranteed stock or, if appropriate, new orders. At the same time, and in accordance with a Decree issued, traders and major users should gradually build up and maintain additional stocks of barley, maize and soya meal, which will act as an additional safety net.
The agri-food sector has been hit hard in the last two years because of the pandemic, both because of the health crisis and because of the measures to contain the virus. Do you see normality slowly returning? Will further support from the state be needed?
Normalcy has started to return but I think it will take some time to get back to the pre-coronavirus situation. However, in these difficult times for the primary sector, the Government has not and will not leave our farming community without support. From the very first moment of the coronavirus outbreak, the Ministry of Agriculture has made the food security of our fellow citizens its primary objective, by maintaining uninterrupted production and making safe food products available to consumers and the processing industry. From the outset, a key requirement was to ensure the continuation of agricultural activity in all production sectors and to support our producers to cope with the difficult conditions that have emerged. Our Ministry has so far implemented a series of measures to deal with the effects of the pandemic in the primary sector, with a total budget of more than €25 million.
Although the need for further measures to mitigate the effects of the pandemic has been reduced, the problems created by the effects of the Russian invasion make it imperative to support the agricultural and livestock sector for a longer period of time. We have already put in place a first package of measures totalling EUR 8 million to support mainly the livestock sectors. In addition, we are closely monitoring developments in order to be in a position to take any additional measures in a timely manner. At this point, I consider it important to point out that Cyprus was one of the few countries in the European Union that immediately and without delay provided support, through its national budget, to its agricultural sector for the consequences of the Russian invasion. In fact, our country was a leading player in the effort to convince the European Commission to allocate additional funds from the Community budget to support farmers because of the situation in Ukraine. This is an effort that, with our persistence and the right consultations and alliances, seems to be bearing fruit.
The ambitious Recovery and Resilience Plan "Cyprus_to-Tomorrow", includes a number of actions in your ministry's area of responsibility, mainly in terms of the transition to green growth. Have actions started to implement the targets set?
The Recovery and Resilience Plan (RSP) is one of the most important financial instruments of the European Union. The aim of the funding provided through the SGP is the transition of Member States to more sustainable, resilient and climate-neutral economies, with 41 % of its budget covering projects and reforms leading to precisely this 'green' transition that you mentioned in your question. In Cyprus, the National SDS, with a total budget of EUR 1.2 billion, has set as its strategic objective the strengthening of the resilience of the economy and the country's potential for economic, social and environmentally sustainable long-term growth and prosperity. In fact, with the use of other resources, the total amount allocated to the Government's ambitious "Cyprus Tomorrow" plan could exceed €4 billion.
The projects and reforms of the National Plan for the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, with a total budget of €200 million, are expected to contribute, among other things, to the rational management of waste towards a circular economy, to the implementation of the targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, to the improvement of the The implementation of the majority of these projects and reforms is underway. The involved Departments of our Ministry have proceeded with tendering for the provision of services and the supply of the necessary equipment, as well as with recruitment procedures for the necessary human resources. Given that the horizon for the implementation of projects and reforms, according to the limits set by the European Commission itself, is 2026, it has become clear to everyone that implementation should continue at an intensive pace, without delays and complex bureaucratic procedures.
In conclusion, I would like to ask you if there are any developments following the recent decision of the European Commission to activate the informal bicommunal group on Halloumi.
As a Government and as a Ministry, we welcomed from the very first moment the announcement of the European Commission to activate the informal bicommunal group on Halloumi. The establishment of the informal bicommunal group is provided for both by the European Commission's Implementing Regulation under which halloumi was registered as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and by the European Commission's Implementing Decision on the crossing of the Green Line by products of animal origin. This group, which will be composed of representatives of the production and trade sectors and will not have executive status, will monitor and exchange views and experiences on the operation of the inspection system for the crossing of the Green Line by the 'Halloumi'/Hellim' PDO product and other aspects relating to the product. We await information from the European Commission on the procedures for the start-up of the group, whose suggestions will be taken very seriously, for the benefit of producers throughout Cyprus, both Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot.
At this point, I consider it important to point out that with the registration of the product "Hallumi"/Hellim" as a PDO, for the first time since the accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the European Union in 2004, the acquis communautaire is applied in a structured manner throughout Cyprus, with the assistance of the European Union and under the supervision of the Republic of Cyprus. I consider the case of halalumi as a successful example where all producers in Cyprus can benefit from the application of the European acquis throughout Cyprus.
Is the issue of the milk quota in Halloumi definitively closed or do you think it can be reintroduced at some point when conditions allow? In any case, sheep's and goat's milk should take precedence over cow's milk, should it not?
According to the PDO file approved by the European Commission for halloumi, sheep's and goat's milk should, in any case, take precedence over cow's milk. For a transitional period until 2024 and in order to ensure, until then, the required sufficiency of goat and sheep's milk, the Minister of Commerce has signed a decree to allow a minimum inclusion of 20% for the months of September to December and 25% for the remaining eight months of goat and sheep's milk. The possibility of downward diversification of 50%+ of goat and sheep milk after 2024 is limited and can only be done with the agreement of the European Commission and under specific terms and conditions. But what is important for this small differentiation to be adopted is the agreement of all stakeholders in Cyprus, something that so far, despite our persistent efforts, both as a Ministry and personally, has not been achieved.
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[Cyprus Times] Kostas Kadis in CT: We are preparing for fire prevention and response
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