“The proposal to include the saffron in the State Financial Support Program is an important development”

The news from official government lips that “it has been proposed to include the saffron in the state economic aid program of

year 2023 for 5,450 acres” brought out the debate today in the Plenary of the Parliament of the Topical Question “The saffron producers of Kozani need immediate support” of the Member of Parliament of Kozani of PASOK – Movement for Change, Pari Koukoulopoulos.

In the context of the dialogue that developed, the Member of Parliament presented and submitted to the minutes numerical data from the “Forced Cooperative of Shot Producers of Kozani” for the historical record of shrinking production and hectare yield in the last two years, as a consequence of the climate crisis. He emphatically claimed: 1) de minimis compensation to replace the lost income of crocus producers, 2) special aid corresponding to Chios mastic, 3) special care for crocus in the ongoing update of the ELGA Regulation.

“The matter is urgent. Saffron is a five-year crop, of the 1,025 members of the Cooperative, about 200 this year have a turn to sow. However, they are cautious. That is why we need today to send a message of immediate support to them. Your answer is of vital importance so that we don’t lose cultivated acres from a “treasure” – a source of local wealth and an exportable product of the Greek economy”, he stressed.

Especially for ELGA, he pointed out that “crocodile producers only pay and are not compensated for anything!”.

On behalf of the Government, the Deputy Minister of Agricultural Development & Food, Mr. D. Stamenitis, read out a list of actions, although important, that do not directly or fully respond to the urgent needs of croco producers. Among them, the process (still not completed) for the issuance of a quality standard for sorghum by the Codex Alimentarius, the outsourced farming program, as well as the success of the Cooperative to be registered in China.

From his words, as mentioned above, the news stood out that “it has been proposed to include saffron in the 2023 state financial support program for 5,450 acres and, as long as the conditions of the relevant C.Y.A. are met, it can be strengthened”.

Regarding the special aid, the Deputy Minister stated that it was given to Chios in the framework of the status of the small Aegean islands, where it is not possible to join the saffron, and that no request for related aid has been submitted by the Greek Government to the European Commission.

Referring to the existing documentation of the “Compulsory Cooperative of Saffron Producers of Kozani”, which is in the hands of the Ministry, P. Koukoulopoulos replied that “saffron obviously has similar characteristics to Chios mastic. Here we are talking about cultivation with family characteristics, leading to population containment in an area brutally hit by lignitization and unable to withstand another blow. It is connected to a distinct local way of life and the formation of an intangible cultural heritage, which we must preserve.”

In more detail, you can see the video of the debate here: https://collab.parliament.gr/~EbQuO