00:00Neophytos Patsias is 67 years old. He's been a farmer for decades and cultivates vegetables
00:06on his farm in the village of Kiti in the district of Larnaca. Like hundreds of other
00:10Cypriot farmers, Patsias was recently notified by the country's Water Development Department
00:16that the volume of water allocated for irrigation this year will be half what it was in 2024.
00:30The water restrictions are the result of a policy that has been put in place by the
00:37Government of Cyprus to limit the use of polluted water.
00:42The Government of Cyprus has said that it will not allow the use of polluted water in
00:47the village.
00:48The government of Cyprus has said that it will not allow the use of polluted water in
00:54the village.
00:56The water restrictions are the result of a prolonged drought, now in its second consecutive
01:02year. Rainfall in January was the lowest recorded in Cyprus in almost 30 years, raising serious
01:08concerns in a country whose water supply and irrigation policies have long relied on collecting
01:13rainwater in reservoirs.
01:26Cyprus has tried to tackle its water shortage problem by constructing five desalination
01:31plants over the last 20 years. However, while desalinated water meets 60% of the country's
01:37drinking water needs, it is not used for irrigation at all.
01:55Now we have to water the plants every 15-20 years, but we don't depend only on the plants.
02:02What do we do?
02:05With summer approaching, 36-year-old farmer Yorgos Kailas is also concerned about the survival
02:11of his 9,000 olive trees. He also views the construction of more desalination plants as
02:17the only viable solution.
02:20The situation for my trees will be tragic in the summer. At 45 degrees in the afternoon,
02:26without water, I don't know if our trees will survive. I'm not even talking about production.
02:33We know that from now on, even if our trees are desalinated, they will not survive due
02:39to the lack of water.
02:41Here, next to Israel, we are completely dependent on the rain.
02:49And now we are 100% desalinated in a place that has the same climate as us.
02:55Expanding desalination capacity is a key priority in a 28-point action plan drawn up by the
03:01Cypriot government. Four mobile desalination units are set to be built in 2025, and two
03:07permanent plants are scheduled for completion within the next five years.
03:29So until the new desalination plants begin operation, all farmers in Cyprus can do is
03:35hope that the rains will come, and soon.
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