Athens News Agency: News in English, 08-07-16

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Deputy FM has talks in Washington

[02] Organic cotton pilot program

[01] Deputy FM has talks in Washington

Kassimis, who is currently in Washington to attend the 39th Biennial Clergy-Laity Congress organised by the Archbishopric of America, met with Senator Robert Menendez and House of Representives members Gus Bilirakis and John Sarbanes.

Senator Menendez noted, during the talks, that the understanding for Greece's positions regarding the FYROM "name issue" has increased, following the NATO Bucharest Summit last April and the Greek veto to FYROM's entry into the Alliance, resulting in an increase of the number of senators who co-sponsor a draft resolution in favour of Greece on this thorny issue. The draft resolution was introduced by Menendez and Senators Barack Obama and Olympia Snowe as well.

Kassimis is currently in Wsahington attending the 39th Biennial Clergy-Laity Congress, which was inaugurated by Archbishop Dimitrios of America.

Messages to the Congress were sent by Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos and Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, while Kassimis addressed the opening session.

Caption: Deputy foreign minister Theodoros Kassimis. (ANA-MPA/K. Mavrona)

[02] Organic cotton pilot program

Opening the event, Agricultural Biology professor Dimitris Bilalis, of the Athens Agricultural University, outlined the reasons why Karditsa prefecture had been selected for the organic cotton pilot program, adding that the organic cotton farming was being conducted in accordance with a European Union regulation providing for non use of chemicals in the soil.

He explained that there has been increased demand internationally for organically-grown cotton in recent years, with interest coming particulalry from major clothing industries.

Bilalis warned, howere, that there were certain problems and weaknesses at several levels which could have a negative impact, to a degree, if careful analysis of the course and development of the cultivation was not made.

"Organic cotton in Karditsa could, with the proper certification and standardisation, acquire a PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) status, giving the end product added value and competitiveness. Indeed, for this purpose, organic cotton cultivation could be subsidised with up to 60 euros per stremma. In addition, it could also contribute to reducing all the inflows (fertilizers, pesticides, etc.), and even reduction of watering in difficult periods of drought, such as this year's," Prof. Bilalis explained.

Karditsa prefect Fotis Alexakis said that the holding of such informational events and the presentation of current farming issues by experts helps the prefecture's farmers in their search for new products, adding that the prefectural authority will provide support, both material and moral, for every such effort.

Already, he continued, in the specific case at hand, the prefectural authority funded the Agricultural University's study on organic cotton cultivation in Karditsa, aimed at establishing a network of organic cotton producers prefecture-wide and, if it proved profitable, for local producers to expand the cultivation of the product.

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