Minister meets farmers over water cuts

AGRICULTURE Minister Fotis Fotiou yesterday met with agricultural organisations and updated them on the water shortage crisis.

Fotiou informed farmers on the measures being taken to deal with the drought, referring to an increase of water production by the Dhekelia and Larnaca desalination units and the promotion of new desalination units in Limassol and Paphos – one permanent and one mobile – so that the water supply problem can be dealt with.

He also referred to plans to begin recycling water from the Nicosia Drainage System, which will cost an estimated £25 million, as well as the need to sensitise the public to the extent of the problem.

Fotiou said there were currently 23 million cubic metres of water reserved in the island’s dams, which makes this year one of the hardest of the past few years.

Referring to the problems faced by farmers, Fotiou said: “I have said many times that our farmers are those who will be hit the worst, so any added measures in the irrigation sector will be met with compensatory measures and the government will stand by our farmers’ side.”

He added: “As a first decision, water will not be given from the Kouri dam for irrigation and the dialogue with agricultural organisations will continue next week when the added measures and the water cuts for irrigation are specified, as well as the ways in which we will support our farmers.”

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.