Filenews 31 January 2026
The President of Panagrotikos and President of the Pancyprian Organization of Wheat Producers, Kyriakos Kailas, described the reduction of the water supply to farmers as catastrophic, wondering where the viability of farmers is going.
He warned that "with the water cuts, those farmers who have wells will produce few products which will be sold and bought by consumers at a higher price since their production costs will be huge".
Answering a question, Mr. Kailas said that "during the meeting held recently at the Ministry of Agriculture, we were informed that the water supply for homes would be reduced to 5% and for farmers to 35%. However, the agricultural organizations disagreed with this reasoning and it was finally agreed that the cuts would reach 10% for houses and 30% for farmers," he said.
He also noted that "the actions taken today are in the right direction, however they should have been taken a decade ago."
In recent years, he continued, "agricultural organizations have been invited to the Ministry of Agriculture to be informed about water cuts due to water scarcity. The question that arises for this particular chronic problem is where this situation will go, where will the fruitfulness and viability of farmers go."
At the same time, he continued, "we wonder how farmers will produce coarse feed that animals need, i.e. high-fibre feed that forms the basis of the diet for ruminants, including cattle and sheep. 50% of these foods should be from Cypriot products in order to ensure the legality of PDO halloumi exports," he said.
Asked about the disposal of recycled water, the President of Panagrotikos claimed that "huge mistakes and plans were made by the Water Development Department on this issue", citing as an example the dam in Tersefanou, which as he said "was built two years ago but the plans did not take the provision for the pipeline from the sewerage system of Larnaca to send water there and be granted to the farmers and livestock breeders of the area".
Even today, he continued, "farmers who can, receive only three million cubic meters of water out of the 6 million produced by the Larnaca Wastewater Treatment Plant and the rest goes to the sea. Almost the whole of Larnaca was connected to the sewerage system to greatly increase the quantities of recycled water, however not all of them are available for farmers and livestock breeders," he said.
Mr. Kailas also referred to the proposal of "farmers in the area where the Wastewater Treatment Plant is located, the competent authorities to put pressure on the recycled water extracted from the sewerage system, so that at their own expense they can transport it to where they need it. If water is not given to permanent crops including fruit trees and olive trees, then they will be destroyed," he said.
In his statements, the President of Panagrotikos also referred to the farmers who took out loans in order to engage in this profession and said that "the banks are asking for their money back, which unfortunately people cannot repay because they have no income. Today the only way out of this impasse is to increase desalination," he said.
Agricultural organizations, he continued, "support the creation of other desalination plants and even large cubic meters, i.e. not to produce water of only 10 thousand cubic meters. With today's means, desalination plants can produce 100 thousand cubic meters of water per day and be at a depth of 500 meters under the sea, making the dispersion of the brine better," he explained.
Israel cannot, he said, "produce water at a cost of 50 cents per cubic meter and in Cyprus we pay €1.50 and €2 to have water from desalination. If we reach Israel's levels, then things will be much better and easier for the Cypriot farmer, who produces products with the result that there is cheap food on the table of consumers."
Mr. Kailas said that "things have gotten out of hand and it is time for everyone, agricultural organizations, farmers and each household to make their own collection, not to waste water unnecessarily, because unfortunately even more difficult days will come in the water sector". He added that "the situation in the water is tragic, based on the data as presented to us in the meetings with the Ministry of Agriculture".
Consumers, he continued, "because they see water running from the tap, they have not understood the seriousness of the water issue, which after the Turkish invasion and occupation, is the second biggest problem in Cyprus".
To another question, Mr. Kailas replied that "from production to processing, 22-25% of Cypriot workers are engaged and we cannot rely on imported products".
Asked about the rains that have been falling lately in several areas of Cyprus, he said that "it has been very good and beneficial and it has been possible to meet the needs of some permanent and seasonal crops, but unfortunately the water in the dams is at very low levels. The current occupancy of 10% in the dams does not say anything since last year in the corresponding period it was around 20-22%", he said
Asked about the problems of wheat producers, Mr. Kailas replied that "they face many other problems since instead of being in the fields spraying and doing their jobs, they have to prove legal possession of their estates. Wheat producers are protesting because most have been compensated only 60% of what was expected," he said. He noted that "things are very difficult, and for these professionals. Things are constantly changing and we don't know how many people will stay to deal with the primary sector," he added.
Mr. Kailas also referred to a letter sent by the Water Development Department to farmers and farmers' companies that have drilling, informing them that it is claiming fees for water use, with retroactive effect from 2017.
After explaining that "there is a 2017 decision, which imposes a 1 cent charge, in addition to the cost of water, for each ton of water", he added that "despite the fact that the agricultural organizations reacted and then the officials of the Water Development Department had not implemented this decision, they remembered today to apply it retroactively".
You cannot, continued the President of Panagrotikos "fight the farmer every day and this action of the WDD is the worst. They have violated the terms of reference of the President of the Republic himself, who had stated that we would try to increase agricultural exports," he said.
CNA
