Banana growers are preparing a memorandum of demands amid ongoing fears over their crops following the draining of the Mavrokolympos reservoir last week and the driest January since 1997.

With the memorandum, they seek to address President Nikos Christodoulides and Agricultural Minister Maria Panayiotou.

At a meeting on Monday, 250 farmers had warned that continued water supply problems would prevent their banana crops from growing large enough to be sold, and called on the government to offer them fsupport.

Droushia deputy major Sotiris Koupparis said said banana farmers “appear to be facing a major problem” and that the full extent of the damage caused by the lack of water has not yet been assessed.

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He did note that the areas served by the Mavrokolympos dam are also served by Paphos’ district irrigation system, which is connected to the Asprokremmos reservoir, but that the quantities of water available “will be small”.

Koupparis said he expected repairs of the damaged dam to take up to five months and that no method of how to do so had been decided yet.

He added that the loss of roughly 1.4 million cubic meters of water and the lack of a mobile desalination plan had led to anxiety among farmers.

He also said that banana trees require constant hydration. If they do not get enough water, he said, there may eventually be and a shortage of Cypriot bananas on the market.

After a meeting with traders, Koupparis warned that given the circumstances, the prices of bananas will increase for both wholesalers and consumers.

He said financial support will be requested in the coming days and added that the banana plantations are in need of 1,200 to 1,500 tonnes of water per year.

Finally, he stated that due continued dry weather expected in the next 20 days, farmers are asking to be supplied with enough water to continue watering their crops.

The draining of the Mavrokolympos dam has compounded a worsening water situation in the Paphos district, with reservoirs across the district and the island remaining on average just a quarter full, and this January being Cyprus’ driest since 1997.

Additionally, a desalination plant between the villages of Mandria and Kouklia was completely destroyed in a fire last month, further weakening the district’s water supply.

Paphos district governor Charalambos Pittokopitis had at the end of last month called for two new dams to be built in the district to protect it against future droughts.