The priority is covering basic water needs and then supporting professional farmers, the agriculture ministry said on Friday.

Responding to press reports, the ministry urged professional farmers to seek temporary alternative sources of water, such as new boreholes, until the works provided for in the national investment plan for water projects were completed.

The ministry and the Water Development Department said they understood the concerns of the farmers and their contribution to the agricultural sector, and assured that support would continue to be given through realistic and applicable solutions.

At the moment, the situation called for a strict focus on allocating water reserves, so as not to cause problems in the water supply, as Cyprus was going through a third dry year.

“In this framework, priority is firstly given to covering the basic needs for water supply and then supporting professional farmers,” the ministry said.

Regarding the Alaminos area, the ministry said the problem had been pending since the 1990s, when a study was prepared to install an irrigation network in the Mazotos area, which included the irrigation of areas in the villages of Ayios Theodoros, Alaminos, Anafotia, Kivisili and Mazotos with water from the south pipeline.

The project, although included in proposed budgets, was not approved by the Planning Office, due to other water supply priorities. Consequently, its construction did not proceed in the following years either.

“Meanwhile, the temporary and improper connections of previous years directly to the south pipeline network have increased, resulting in serious problems in its drainage capacity, as well as in the smooth operation of refineries and irrigation projects,” the ministry pointed out.

The ministry said that it was for this reason that the ministry is proceeding with a holistic solution to the problem, since the Mazotos-Anafotia-Alaminos irrigation project has been included in the list of investment plan with an estimated cost of €7 million.

Referring to non-professional farmers, the ministry said that temporary connections to the south pipeline would be cut off in 12 months and until then those farmers should seek alternative water sources.

“In an effort to alleviate the problems, the Water Development Department recommends drilling boreholes as a temporary alternative source for irrigation of their plots, with the relevant water abstraction applications receiving priority,” the ministry said.