An upcoming European regulation will force olive oil producers to change their production methods or see their product labeled as unfit for consumption.
AGRICULTURE
Veterinarians and other experts from the European Union will arrive in Greece on Wednesday to help local colleagues get a handle on an outbreak of the contagious ovine rinderpest disease among sheep and goats in Central Greece.
The Agriculture Ministry is sending its entire team of veterinarians to Central Greece starting on Monday as it seeks to get ahead of a serious outbreak of ovine rinderpest, which is threatening to decimate livestock farmers’ sheep and goat flocks in the region of Thessaly.
Lightning strikes in northern Greece killed cattle and started fires during a dayslong heat wave affecting most of southern Europe.
A case of ovine rinderpest has hit goats and sheep in the central Greek region of Thessaly, alarming local farmers.
As the last embers died out from a wildfire that ripped through one of Greece’s most valuable wine regions last week, the grape-growers and winemakers of Nemea in the northern Peloponnese starting take stock of the damage to the crop over the weekend.
A case of ovine rinderpest has been detected in a herd of goats and sheep in Kalabaka, in Thessaly, the Ministry of Rural Development and Food has announced.
The last two dry winters put traditional Greek crops to the test, but they favored new ones that can endure the effects of climate change.
The now evident impact of climate change on agriculture in Greece and the need for ways to adapt were discussed at a forum organized on Friday and Saturday in Lasithi by the University of Crete and the National Network on Climate Change.
New Minister of Rural Development and Food Κostas Tsiaras on Friday emphasized the significant challenges facing the primary sector as he undertook his new responsibilities following the government reshuffle.
Grape growers and wine producers have long sought certifications testifying to their sustainable farming methods or their commitment to protecting the environment. Far less attention has been paid over the years to how wineries treated the people who are doing the actual farming and production work.
The new regulation for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2023-2027 has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union, introducing changes to the standards for Good Agricultural and Environmental Practices, which took effect on Saturday.
Bulgarian farmers were busy harvesting rose petals for their renowned oil this week, about a month earlier than the historical norm due to climate change that has ushered in warmer and more humid springs.
Estimates about olive oil production in Greece are optimistic this year, although safer conclusions will be available in about a month’s time.
The trade balance of agri-food products was in surplus in three of the last four years (2020, 2021 and 2023), a positive development, but not sufficient to change the sign from negative to positive in the overall trade balance.
Food sufficiency and the climate crisis are the issues that will concern governments and international organizations, Minister of Rural Development and Food Lefteris Avgenakis said on Friday speaking at the 10th GAIA Business Conference, held in Kalamata.
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