Greece’s Rural Development and Food Μinister, Spilios Livanos on Monday said that the ministry’s main goal is to promote the “Greek Diet” brand.
Speaking to Skai TV, the minister said that the goal is to subsidise infrastructure, increase exports, train farmers and promote the “Greek Diet” brand.
He also spoke about the new EU Common Agricultural Policy, which will bring €19.7 billion to Greece, and stressed the need for judicious investment in infrastructure.
“If we manage our investments in infrastructure soundly and increase production and exports, giving added value to our products, then we will have succeeded. If the money is spent on simple grants then we will have failed, as has been the case in previous decades. Our ally in this effort is the Recovery Fund,” Livanos said.
“Greece has the privilege of producing excellent products. These products must acquire an identity, they must acquire a branding as the Greek diet,” he added.
Livanos noted that tourists can also be the best ambassadors of the healthy Greek diet.
“The primary and secondary sector, which I have the honour to serve, is essentially the driving force for the Greek economy to start at another level. But it must be linked to tourism, culture and our health policy. If we succeed and create this new framework, internally and then externally, I believe in a few years we will work miracles.”
He also pointed out the absence of a policy on oil and compared it with the successful policy on wine. Livanos expressed his optimism that within the next year there will be a policy for the exceptional quality of Greek oil, emphasising that “we must connect the brand of Greek oil with the brand of the new Greece that is being built”.
*More on GCT: The ‘Greek diet’ and why you should consider it
