Severe water cuts threaten crops in Northern Greece
A parliamentary question has been submitted to the Hellenic Parliament by Hüseyin Zeybek, Member of Parliament for İskeçe (Xanthi) and Head of Agricultural Policy for the New Left Party, concerning the severe reduction in irrigation water from the Thesavros Dam and the serious threats this poses to the sustainability of the primary sector in the regions of Xanthi and Kavala.
In his submission, Zeybek underscores that a recent announcement by the Public Power Corporation (DEI) reveals plans to release only 35 million cubic meters of water for irrigation purposes in 2025.
This volume represents less than one-fifth of the water allocated in 2021 and only half of the 2024 supply, raising significant concerns about the viability of agricultural activity in the region.
The anticipated reduction is expected to have dire consequences for farmers in the Sarışaban (Chrysoupoli) plain and the Municipality of İnhanlı (Topeiros), both of which rely heavily on irrigation for crop cultivation.
According to Mr. Zeybek, local farmers are already facing extreme hardship, with many of them at the brink of economic collapse. The looming water shortage poses an imminent threat to the survival of their crops, exacerbating an already critical situation in the agricultural sector.
