According to officials from the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, “the problem faced by OPEKEPE’s technical consultant has finally been resolved, and payments are now proceeding normally.”

The issue occurred on the evening of Tuesday, December 16, 2025, when, due to a technical error on the part of the technical consultant, a malfunction occurred in the payment system. As a result, some eligible farmers had the remainder of their insurance contribution to ELGA withheld before the Basic and Redistributive Aid amounts had been credited.

Early on Wednesday morning, the problem was fixed, and payments for the Redistributive Aid began, while around noon the settlement of the Basic Aid was also initiated.

Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Food, Christos Kellas, commented on the issue on ERTnews Radio 105.8, calling it an “unjustified mistake.” He explained: “Regarding ELGA, the Basic Aid, the Redistributive Aid, the Young Farmers program, and ELGA compensations were all scheduled for payment yesterday. There is an agreement with a large percentage of farmers, who have committed to this through their OSDE declarations at the KDY offices, that with the payment of the Basic Aid, the ELGA insurance contribution will be deducted. What happened yesterday? Due to an oversight by the technical consultant and OPEKEPE, the ELGA deduction was sent first before the Basic Aid was paid.”

He added: “Last night the ELGA insurance deduction was applied before the Basic Aid payment. Farmers are right to be upset. Without assuming any responsibility on behalf of the Ministry, I apologize. This is a problem that falls on the technical consultant and OPEKEPE. However, the Redistributive Aid has already been paid this morning, and the Basic Aid will follow shortly.”

It is noted that by Tuesday, the 2025 Basic Aid settlement was supposed to be credited to farmers’ accounts, for those who had received an advance or made corrections, as well as the Redistributive Aid. Payments are also planned for young farmers, though in some cases amounts are reduced due to inspections.