In the coming period, the FSA will initially proceed with the conclusion of program contracts with the North Aegean, South Aegean and Western Greece Regions, whose plans have already been submitted for a pre-contractual legality check to the Commissioner. of the Court of Accounts
Previous Monday, May 15 The Ministry of Rural Development and Food announced that immediately after the next elections, program contracts for management plans will be signed. grasswith the Regions of Crete, Western Macedonia, Epirus, Central Greece and Eastern Macedonia, with bidding procedures expected within a month.
In the upcoming period, the FSA will initially proceed to the conclusion of programmatic contracts with the North Aegean, South Aegean and Western Greece Regions, whose plans have already been submitted for a pre-contractual legality check to the Commissioner of the Court of Auditors.
“In Crete, all the Livestock Associations, including ours in Lasithi prefecture, have requested many years ago that these studies of grazing management plans be carried out, because through these plans, the distribution of acres will be done in a more correct and grazing will highlight the ability of each region. There are saturated areas where we know that too many sheep and goats are raised, for which there is no corresponding cattle pasture, so we have many problems with crop damage and complaints from farmers who want the herds not to enter agricultural areas,” he told the Neakriti.Gram the president of the Lasithi Prefectural Livestock Association, Mr. Yiannis Brokos.
“With the study of the grazing management plan in all of Crete, I believe that the situation will improve a lot and many of the existing problems that have remained unresolved for so many years will be solved, while it is certain that the subsidies will be distributed more equitably. I must To say that, for the grazing management plan of Crete, the former deputy regional governor of the primary sector of the Region of Crete, Mr. Manolis Chnaris, has worked a lot and we thank him for it”, he emphasized.
The grazing management plans will bring with them a series of changes in the operation of cattle farms, since they will introduce new data on the grazing capacity of the country’s pastures. In particular, they will determine the number of animals that can graze in each zone and the periods of the year in which grazing is allowed. Likewise, the management plans will result in the interventions that must be carried out for the protection and development of pastures in each area.
In addition, de facto grazing management plans will lead to a redistribution of agricultural subsidies among ranchers. We will know the scope and intensity of this problem after the completion of management plans for the entire country.
The resources to finance the projects will come from the income collected from the grazing rights that have been deposited in favor of each Region by the ranchers.
What does the Greek law say?
The use of pastures within the pastures protected by forest legislation is allowed, under the terms and conditions of the law and forest legislation, provided that the natural balance and sustainability are maintained, as well as the productive, protective, hydronomic, aesthetic and other aspects of the ecosystems formed by the vegetation that grows in the grasslands.
Grazing within rangelands is practiced on the basis of the area’s grazing management plan, says the law.
The management plans regulate the conditions of use of said lands for grazing, in accordance with existing and emerging ones, compatible with forest legislation and parallel grazing uses and the grazing capacity of each area and sustainable management and use. uninterrupted range of grazing lands are secured for the grazing needs of the herds. The uses compatible with forestry legislation are those foreseen, while with grazing are those uses that do not hinder the accessibility of the herds and do not degrade the overall grazing capacity of the pastures as a single entity, as has been calculated.
For reasons of uniformity in grazing management, the management plans also include the lands whose owners so wish and state it in writing. It is also possible to include land that is subject to the provisions of the agricultural legislation and that is grazed by farm animals.
The Law establishes that the Ministry of Rural Development and Food delegates the elaboration of grazing management plans to the Regions of the Country with a programming contract entered into with the respective Region.
The management plans prepared by the Regions are approved by decision of the Coordinator of the corresponding Decentralized Administration, prior opinion of the competent Forest Authority and the competent Region Directorate.
In case of impossibility of entering into a contract or termination of the previous contracts for any reason, the Ministry of Rural Development and Food may assume the responsibility of preparing the grazing management plans. The approval of the plans in this case is carried out by decision of the Minister of Rural Development and Food following the opinion of the competent Forestry Authority and the competent Region Directorate.
For the pastures included within the protected areas, the grazing capacity is evaluated and measures are decided to improve, manage and organize the practice of grazing so as to avoid the degradation of the protection objects of the area. In cases where these areas are included within the limits of responsibility of the protected area management bodies, the corresponding management body issues an opinion to the body responsible for preparing the study on the management plan. For the rest of the regions, the corresponding authorities express their opinion.
Grazing management plans are valid for 7 years from their approval. After the seven-year period, the grazing management plans are reviewed and reapproved. In the event of a natural catastrophe or other cause, the plans are reviewed and approved within 1 year of their determination by the competent services.
Within the pastures, animal facilities are allowed in accordance with the conditions of the law, as well as animal watering troughs, small rainwater tanks and interventions that do not alter the appearance of the landscape and that are provided for in the plans. management of grazing at the service of farmers, the operation of pastures and animal welfare.
With the grazing management plans, the summer pasture areas that each legally mobile rancher will use are determined, in accordance with the current health regime for herd rearing.