User:Kypros Nicolaides/"Andreas Diakou" Cyprus Agriculture Prize

The "Andreas Diakou" Prize in Agriculture is awarded by the Republic of Cyprus during the Cyprus Agriculture Fare occurring every other year. The prize was established year 2009 after analysis and acceptance by the Cyprus Ministry of Agriculture of a motivated request and funding by the Andreas Diakou family.

The Prize aims to spotlight remarkable achievements in agriculture activities which have positive impact to people. The Prize "Andreas Diakou" wishes also to be a bearer of emulation enabling improvements in the agriculture methods, techniques, products and quality. The Prize is a reward to the passionate and generous workers of the land.

Procedure
1. Early in the year of Prize attribution the Prize Committee identifies and publishes through Press, Agrotis magazine and Cyprus Ministry of Agriculture e-site the competition subject and calls for candidatures. The Prize Committee announces the money reward level. For year 2009 it was of two thousand euros.

2. Any farmer or organizations of farmers leaving and working permanently in the Cyprus areas which are under Cyprus Republic control.

3. Candidatures are collected at every District offices of The Ministry of Agriculture.

4. The Prize Committee pre-selects up to ten dossiers which are covering in the best way the submitted subject.

5. By delegation from the Prize Committee, the District agents of The Ministry of Agriculture visit and evaluate the submitted Project. Their evaluation is formalized and communicated to the Prize Committee. When required, the Prize Committee visits itself the farm Project.

6. The Prize Committee meets to evaluate the remaining competing Projects and Decides of the winner.

7. Laureates are honored and officially awarded their prize at the Cyprus Agriculture Fair held in Lefkosia, in a televised award ceremony.

Republic of Cyprus
Recognizes officially the Agriculture Prize "Andreas Diakou" (Foundation letter sent by Cyprus Republic - Ministry of Agriculture the 23rd June 2008 describes the here above Procedure)

Ministry of Agriculture
Promotes and enables the every other year organization and award of the Prize

Prize Committee
The Prize Committee is composed by the following four members:

- "Head of Agriculture Applications Branch" of Cyprus Agriculture Ministry

- "Manager of Agriculture Applications Branch" of Cyprus Agriculture Ministry

- "Representative Manager" of Agriculture unions

- "Representative person" of the Andreas Diakou family. As wished by the family, their representative person doesn't have voting rights.

Funding
The Andreas Diakou family is funding the Prize in memory of their husband, father and grandfather.

Andreas Diakou
Passionate, competent and generous farmer born in Kato Deftera (1st August 1917 - 12 December 2007) district of Lefkosia.

He started farmer activities at 12 years old (his father farm was requiring support taking him out of school) and stopped only at 88. The sole pause in his agriculture life was his 6 years voluntarily enrolment in the British Army during the Second World War.