The government is enforcing neoliberal conservative measures on agriculture

 

Statement by Nikos Ioannou, member of the Political Bureau of AKEL

AKEL C.C. Press Office, 22nd September 2014, Nicosia

 

The government is proceeding in the restructuring of the Ministry of Agriculture, focusing on enforcing neoliberal conservative policies in the sensitive area of ​​Agriculture.

In line with a recent World Bank report the government’s actions are centred on three axes. The first objective is the centralization of Departments, especially those concerned with subsidies so that they will be under the direct control of the Ministry of Agriculture. Among the Departments in question are the Cyprus Agricultural Payments Organization (CAPO) and the Organization of Agricultural Insurance. These Organizations should not be a tool for the given government to exercise its own policy, but rather they should continue as independent bodies. The second objective of the government’s actions is to cut spending on rural development and reduce the number of staff and thirdly, to assign work and projects to the private sector. We are particularly concerned about the planned government changes to the Water Development Department, as regards the management of the social commodity of water. The implementation of the policies as proposed by the World Bank will open the way for the privatization of water.

AKEL opposes the neoliberal policies of the World Bank and the Government, which do not lead to the development and consolidate the agricultural sector, but lead instead to its further shrinkage.

AKEL supports the need to restructure and modernize the Services provided by the Ministry of Agriculture and other agricultural services, which aim at providing a better serve to the people. AKEL backs the need to abolish the multi-fragmentation of the various departments, dealing with environmental protection issues.

We urge the government to open channels of communication with the concerned agencies so that they can present their views and positions and cease taking decisions together with foreign centres of power, which in this case is the World Bank.

AKEL has already tabled the whole matter for discussion in the competent Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture.