The water of Memi lake in the Xyliatos area could not be used for interrogation purposes due to environmental concerns, experts from the agriculture ministry told the House agriculture committee on Tuesday.
MPs in a committee meeting last Tuesday called on Agriculture Minister Maria Panyiotou and the Water Development Department to present solutions including increased water for irrigation, utilising private boreholes or pumping water from Memi lake to water trees and crops in the area.
“Unfortunately, for many years not much was done, and currently measures are being implemented, but with great difficulty and enormous problems for our farmers,” Dipa MP Alekos Tryfonides said.
“The experts of the agriculture ministry stated that it cannot be used for irrigation and in any use of the water, which will keep the trees alive, there is a high probability that the extracted water would have carcinogenic elements,” Tryfonides added.
He said the experts had identified “worrying elements” in the project that would harm the environment, and that therefore they could not approve it.
While currently there were few alternatives available, Tryfonides said that an amount of €15 million would be given to farmers in the Xyliatos area as compensation for the destruction of their crops.
“But when a crop is destroyed, especially the fruit trees that are the most abundant in the area, the trees dry up, what will we do with the compensation when the tree is destroyed and you want to plant it from the beginning?” the MP asked.
At the end of May, Xyliatos farmers sent out a distress call warning their crops were dying, calling on authorities to make arrangements.
While the Xyliatos water dam is also located in the area, there are problems with making the water available for irrigation, resulting in severe concerns on how to water crops in the area amid the persisting drought.
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