West Greece: Extensive damage to chestnuts – Intervention for compensation

The serious problems faced by chestnut producers from the extensive damage caused to production by the contamination by the chestnut gray rot fungus (Monilinia spp) in the highlands of the Western Greece Region, is described in a memorandum to the Minister of Rural Development and Food, Mr. Giorgos Georgantas, from Deputy Regional Governor for Rural Development Mr. Theodoros Vassilopoulos.

In meetings that the deputy regional governor had with chestnut producers from Ilia and Achaia, it was estimated that the situation is difficult with gray rot because one cannot distinguish the problem before peeling the chestnut, which makes the product unmarketable. From the data gathered, it appears that the availability of the product has significantly decreased and the price has dropped, resulting in the financial loss exceeding 70%.

In his statements, Mr. Vassilopoulos pointed out that these damages are not covered by the ELGA regulation which governs farmers’ compensations, therefore the ministry should exhaust every possibility through the financial tools at its disposal to cover the loss of income of chestnut producers as much as possible .

In particular, among others, he stated: “The most important problem observed during the chestnut harvest was the attack by the fungus that causes the rot disease and makes the fruits unmarketable. This had the consequence of a significantly reduced availability of the product and a drop in price, with the result that the economic damage exceeds 70%. The ministry must see the issue with the corresponding interest and compensate the affected producers in the mountainous areas of our Region.”