The picture of the Ministry of Agriculture is positive, Rural Development and Environment, as revealed during the discussion of the Auditor General's report today in the Audit Committee of the House of Assembly, where, however, the problem of understaffing in the Ministry's services was highlighted.
As Chairman of the Committee Zacharias Koulias said, after the meeting, unlike other times, there was a calm and pleasant discussion on the findings of the report, while the Director General of the Ministry, Andreas Gregoriou, for his part, described it as useful and productive.
Koulias said that under the ministry of Costas Kadis and with Andreas Gregorios as Director General, cooperation, as the Auditor General said, was excellent, while the findings made relate to previous tenures of ministers and directors general.
With the exception of the case of the veterinary services, for which a special report had been requested, Mr. Coulias said that a pleasant and constructive discussion was held with all ten directorates of the Ministry, which were present at the meeting to discuss the Auditor General's report.
He also said that there had been a depletion of many critical services in the Ministry due to understaffing. "The state needs to put more emphasis as this Ministry is for the weaker sections of the people, the agro-pastoralists and they must have the tools to respond properly in difficult times," he said.
He added that agriculture and livestock had always been the backbone of the rural economy, which also pushed the local economy in other directions. "Putting all our eggs in one basket, like tourism, has proved that the outbreak of a war exposes us to risks," he said and reiterated that due attention needs to be paid by the state to this sector with the support of the relevant ministry.
In his remarks after the meeting, the Director General of the Ministry, Andreas Gregoriou, said he highly appreciated the work done by the Audit Service and the Auditor General for the Ministry. He added that for the problems that have been identified, instructions have already been given to all directors to comply, explain and avoid them in the future.
"Through the activities of the Audit Committee we are given the opportunity to take corrective action and avoid mistakes in the future." Gregoriou, noting that the ministry's services operate within the framework of legality and good administration.
In response to a question on the understaffing problem, he said that the horizontal freezing of appointments had also affected the ministry, but lately the de-skilling and filling of vacancies has been going on. "Some positions have already been filled and for some others the process is underway. I expect that by the end of the year all of them will be filled," Gregoriou said, noting, however, that the effort is to have the ministry's departments functioning normally, even with a shortage of staff, either by simplifying or modifying procedures.
Sufficiency in perishables, but only 1.5 months' stock of grain for animal feed
The crisis with the pandemic and recently with the war in Ukraine highlights the need in every country to have a sufficiency of food and goods produced by farmers and ranchers, Gregoriou said. The aim of the Rural Development Programmes, he noted, is to make investments in the primary sector to provide quality products, with sufficiency for the whole population.
As a precautionary measure, he continued, we moved to market 36.000 tons of corn and barley, to have enough for fodder. This quantity, together with the existing quantity, gives enough for 1.5 months. We want to believe that in the next few days a solution to the problem will be found to normalize the market.
Regarding the Ministry of Commerce's cap on barley and corn products and moves to set a profit margin, he said he understands that these are tools that will work proactively against profiteering.
Asked about the availability of perishables, Gregoriou said this was mainly influenced by weather conditions, explaining that some increased prices in recent times were due to the frost that had been observed. "There is no question of perishable sufficiency, but in a period of crisis we all need to rethink the way we consume, to choose a sustainable approach, without waste," he concluded.
Source: CNA
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