Greek farmers say Athens protest will give officials food for thought

Greece's farmers are losing patience with their government. 

Farmers have blocked highways and staged demonstrations in several cities. ‌They're demanding that officials do something about high energy bills. They also want better infrastructure after floods ripped through the region of Thessaly, leaving many farmers unable to plant or harvest crops. 

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis delivered a proposal last week, saying he would lower power bills for the next 10 years. 

"I'm willing to listen to farmers and find solutions with you, and even propose more measures," Mitsotakis said in a press conference. "We understand your problems, so we are working around them."

But farmers' representatives say that offer is 'crumbs' and does little to address the impact of extreme weather. It's been less than six months since the floods hit Thessaly, killing 20 people and submerging vast stretches of farming land. 

Christos Sidiropolous is a farmer based in Larisa. He usually does his calculations at this time of year, working out how much he will earn for his harvest. Instead, he's trying to figure out if his land can survive another flood. 

"I couldn't collect any harvest after the flood," says Sidiropolous. "The water was so strong that it breached the dam. In some areas the water was six meters high, so imagine a dam receiving so much water that it can't hold it." 

'Just scratching the surface'

Thessaly's governor, Dimitris Kouretas, says farmers need infrastructure that can prevent another disaster. He believes authorities have failed to deliver that. 

"All the projects done so far were scratching the surface," says Kouretas. "That's why this happened. Now we must have a different direction than the central government." 

The region still bears the scars of the disaster. Many farmers use Lake Karla as a water reservoir for irrigation. But the lake has grown to six times its normal size, and the surrounding area is now underwater. That's made it almost impossible for farmers to draw water for their crops. 

They've been calling for better dams and drainage systems, warning that they can't afford a repeat of the floods last September. But they say the prime minister's proposal hardly mentioned infrastructure. They're now planning more protests in the capital, Athens - that's despite the government's appeal to stop the demonstrations.

Governor Kouretas says most people don't understand the challenge facing farmers in his region. "People see what happened here in Thessaly, and think after a few months life is back to normal. But it's not like that."

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