Hundreds of farmers, agricultural businesses, and citizens using private wells and other irrigation sources outside government water projects face unprecedented financial burdens. The Water Development Department recently began sending letters demanding retroactive payment of environmental and resource fees for water usage dating back to 2017.
The move has triggered strong protests from the agricultural sector. Farmers’ organisations jointly wrote to the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Maria Panagiotou, demanding the immediate withdrawal of the decision, calling the charges “excessive” amid prolonged drought and rising production costs.
Farmers condemn retroactive fees
Andreas Karyos, spokesperson for potato producers, called the measure “unacceptable” during an interview on SIGMA’s “Mesimeri kai Kati“. He emphasised that the problem is not only the amount of the fees but the retroactive application, which spans nearly a decade without proper notice to legal users.
Karyos also criticised the calculation method. “If my well produces one tonne and the estimated average is seven tonnes, I get charged for seven,” he said, highlighting the reliance on estimates rather than actual measurements.
Legal users punished, illegal practices rewarded
Karyos warned that the policy unfairly targets compliant farmers while failing to penalise those who have not installed meters or submitted applications. “This creates inequality. We punish the legal users and reward the illegal ones,” he said.
He linked the water fees to other long-standing problems for farmers, such as retroactive rents on state land, noting that he now faces charges dating back to 2005 for land cultivated since 1986.
Severe impact on potato growers
Potato producers, Karyos explained, have not received any water from the state for two years, causing their costs to triple. Now, retroactive fees spanning nine years threaten additional financial strain, with amounts ranging from €4,000 to €10,000. Some farmers reportedly received bills exceeding €110,000, based on estimated rather than actual consumption.
Warning of agricultural collapse
Karyos cautioned that these policies could drive farmers out of business, undermining Cyprus’ domestic food production. “Why should we work? Why bother producing local products? We might as well import everything unchecked, exposing consumers to poor-quality food,” he said.
He urged consumers to support the agricultural sector, warning that if farmers collapse under these pressures, food prices will triple and the state will lose a key support pillar.
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