The agriculture ministry is well aware of the problems caused by drought and water shortage, but says solving the problem would take hundreds of millions of euros and thus solutions are prioritised according to available funds.

Permanent secretary of the agriculture ministry Andreas Gregoriou commented on an Audit Office report on Wednesday, saying people should read the whole report, which painted a different picture from what was being said publicly.

“Let us not create feelings of insecurity among the public,” Gregoriou said.

The report released on Tuesday said Cyprus was “exceeding approved water withdrawal limits” when taking water out of reservoirs for use.

Gregoriou said the state was continuously making efforts to solve the water problem and that the agriculture ministry was well aware of the issues raised in the report.

“The reason we may have not proceeded to solve them is the lack of resources – human and financial,” he said, speaking on CyBC radio.

“We need tens and hundreds of millions of euros and so it is a matter of hierarchising and categorising,” he added.

“What is being said gives the impression that the state is doing nothing. A lot has been done in our country to solve the problem of drought and water shortage, which has been burdening our country since ancient times.”

He added that, in line with EU directives, farmers are given water at a lower price.

Referring to water evaporating from reservoirs, Gregoriou said one should also consider the cost of solving the problem.

On desalination, Gregoriou said the units used conventional energy to produce water and were thus expensive to run.

However, he added, new desalination plants will be obliged to use energy from renewable sources to produce water.

Gregoriou furthermore referred to the systems for processing urban sewerage, which produce approximately 28 million tonnes of water per year for farming.

He added that Cyprus was obliged to increase the number of households on the sewerage network since 2012, to produce more processed water for farming, however the aim is to get this done by 2030.

Gregoriou said the aim was to secure water for households, then animal farms and then permanent plantations.

“When he have prolonged droughts – and this is the third year – unfortunately this will affect farming, however our decision is to supplement the farmers’ income,” Gregoriou said.