The ball of dialogue is in the court of farmers, said Monday morning Rural Development Minister Kostas Tsiaras, who also noted that “I cannot understand how with these steps by the government, it cannot be seen by a part of the farmers as an opportunity to solve the long-standing problems in the agricultural sector.”

Specifically, on agricultural electricity, he told SKAI that “we are extending the low price and lowering it even further” while on agricultural oil he said that “farmers are asking for excise duty not to be withheld once they are supplied at the pump and we are meeting that.” He also said that there should be a redefinition for oil consumption and that there is no cap on the refund of excise duty.

“The government has taken bold steps to solve the problem,” the Rural Development Minister further said, recalling that “the Prime Minister himself has made himself available for dialogue.” He also said that “if 18 of the blockades have taken a decision for dialogue, they should not be subjected to pressure and ridicule.”

On payments, he said there has been a delay due to the effort to clean up OPEKEPE and the audits and that the big issue is to clean up OPEKEPE, adding that almost all payments have been made.

“We are open to see what other products need support,” he noted, also Tsiaras, who, referring to sheep smallpox, said that “the government decided and gave generous compensation for the animals that died” and that the vaccine issue is a decision of the scientific community. “There is no country in the EU that has made the smallpox vaccine,” he stressed.

Asked finally whether he would go to the blockades himself, the rural development minister replied that he was prepared to do so “as long as there is the same willingness on the other side.”