Farmers in Cyprus struggle with water shortages

DW (English)

Prolonged drought and an insufficient number of desalination plants have forced some farmers in Cyprus to radically cut production. For many in agriculture, livelihoods are at stake. Hoping for rain may not be enough.

Transcript

00:00Neophytos Patsias is 67 years old. He's been a farmer for decades and cultivates vegetables

00:06on his farm in the village of Kiti in the district of Larnaca. Like hundreds of other

00:10Cypriot farmers, Patsias was recently notified by the country's Water Development Department

00:16that the volume of water allocated for irrigation this year will be half what it was in 2024.

00:30The water restrictions are the result of a policy that has been put in place by the

00:37Government of Cyprus to limit the use of polluted water.

00:42The Government of Cyprus has said that it will not allow the use of polluted water in

00:47the village.

00:48The government of Cyprus has said that it will not allow the use of polluted water in

00:54the village.

00:56The water restrictions are the result of a prolonged drought, now in its second consecutive

01:02year. Rainfall in January was the lowest recorded in Cyprus in almost 30 years, raising serious

01:08concerns in a country whose water supply and irrigation policies have long relied on collecting

01:13rainwater in reservoirs.

01:26Cyprus has tried to tackle its water shortage problem by constructing five desalination

01:31plants over the last 20 years. However, while desalinated water meets 60% of the country's

01:37drinking water needs, it is not used for irrigation at all.

01:55Now we have to water the plants every 15-20 years, but we don't depend only on the plants.

02:02What do we do?

02:05With summer approaching, 36-year-old farmer Yorgos Kailas is also concerned about the survival

02:11of his 9,000 olive trees. He also views the construction of more desalination plants as

02:17the only viable solution.

02:20The situation for my trees will be tragic in the summer. At 45 degrees in the afternoon,

02:26without water, I don't know if our trees will survive. I'm not even talking about production.

02:33We know that from now on, even if our trees are desalinated, they will not survive due

02:39to the lack of water.

02:41Here, next to Israel, we are completely dependent on the rain.

02:49And now we are 100% desalinated in a place that has the same climate as us.

02:55Expanding desalination capacity is a key priority in a 28-point action plan drawn up by the

03:01Cypriot government. Four mobile desalination units are set to be built in 2025, and two

03:07permanent plants are scheduled for completion within the next five years.

03:29So until the new desalination plants begin operation, all farmers in Cyprus can do is

03:35hope that the rains will come, and soon.

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