OPEKEPE satellite errors leave Rhodope farmers at risk — MP Özgür Ferhat brings issue to Parliament
Özgür Ferhat, Member of Parliament for Rhodope with the New Left Party, has raised in Parliament the serious concerns of farmers in Western Thrace, who face losing their agricultural subsidies due to technical errors in OPEKEPE’s satellite monitoring system.
In a parliamentary question addressed to Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Food Ioannis Adrianos, Ferhat noted that over 80% of producers in the Rhodope region have been flagged with errors in the OPEKEPE database. He emphasized that even plots of land that have been cultivated and harvested are being falsely marked as “uncultivated”.
“Around 600,000 stremmas (60,000 hectares) of farmland in Rhodope — roughly 85% of the total — have been excluded from the system due to technical faults,” Ferhat stated. “These people are in danger of losing their subsidies through no fault of their own.”
Ferhat reminded Parliament that the same satellite-based monitoring system was piloted last year without such problems, and questioned what had changed this year to cause widespread disruption and distress among farmers.
In his follow-up remarks, Ferhat added:
“Farmers in Thrace feel abandoned and helpless. Payments for organic production, redistributive support, and young farmer programs have not been made. With such policies, you are pushing agriculture toward impoverishment. We demand a clear payment timetable and immediate correction of the system’s errors. Not a single cent should be taken away from the farmers’ hard-earned income.”
Ferhat also cited remarks by European Commissioner for Agriculture Christophe Hansen, who stressed that the responsibility for subsidy payments lies with the member states, urging the Greek government to release pending payments without further delay.
Deputy Minister Adrianos Responds
Deputy Minister Ioannis Adrianos rejected claims that any farmers had been unfairly excluded from the system. He underlined that the satellite-based monitoring is mandatory under EU regulations and serves as a “safeguard to protect genuine producers.”
Adrianos assured Parliament that farmers who received warning messages still have the opportunity to correct erroneous data before payments are processed. He also stated that basic subsidy payments will be completed by the end of November, explaining that current delays stem from cross-checking procedures and the extended OSDE (Single Aid Application) process.
