Agriculture ministry allocates €200m to irrigation projects

Projects aimed at upgrading the local water infrastructure will total more than €200 million by 2030, Agriculture Minister Christos Senekis said on Wednesday. “Water cannot be addressed with short-term solutions, depending on rainfall and available reserves. It requires long-term planning, new infrastructure and greater resilience to the conditions shaped by climate change,” he said. Speaking at the annual general assembly of the cooperative growers marketing union Sedigep in Agros, Senekis said that the decision aimed to “give farmers a breather” amid the difficult weather conditions and prolonged drought. Senekis said that further measures to increase water production would focus on desalination units, the reduction of losses in water networks and the better utilisation of reclaimed water for irrigation. Highlighting the ministry’s efforts, he pointed out that the cabinet had recently approved the allocation of an additional 3.5 million cubic metres for irrigation, bringing the total additional amount of water provided to the primary sector to 7 million cubic metres in 2026. With regard to other challenges encountered by the sector, Senekis alluded to two recent rulings by the cabinet. These include two emergency support plans totalling €1.5 million to cushion increased fertiliser and fuel costs, with applications opening on November 2. Senekis said as of 2026, a total of €1 million had been distributed amongst 650 professional farmers and agricultural businesses, with the total cost of extraordinary funding for increased production costs amounting to more than €2.5 million. The minister further referred to the strategic plan of the common agricultural policy from 2023 to 2027, with a total funding of €454 million, aimed at strengthening the resilience and competitiveness of Cypriot agriculture by encouraging innovation and promoting the more effective use of technology and knowledge. In his remarks, Senekis emphasised the importance of support for rural farming, saying that its preservation was not just about production but “means income, the use of the land and, above all, the opportunity for people to stay, work and create in their communities”. “Supporting those who persist in farming in their local areas is a key priority for us,” he said.