Three livestock farmers affected by the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak will not receive compensation for animals that were destroyed, while four others are expected to receive only partial compensation after reviews involving the Legal Service and the Veterinary Services.
The update was provided to the House Agriculture Committee on Tuesday as officials outlined progress on compensation payments and efforts to support the recovery of the livestock sector. A broader reconstruction plan for the industry is due to be presented to stakeholders at the Presidential Palace on Friday by the team led by Stavros Malas.
€17.5 million already paid
Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture's Agriculture Directorate, Andreas Grigoriou, told MPs that approximately €17.5 million has already been paid to affected farmers for livestock losses, milk production losses and animal feed.
Of that amount, around €14.5 million has been paid to 107 beneficiaries for the compulsory destruction of livestock.
According to Grigoriou, four compensation files remain pending, three applications have been rejected as ineligible, and another three cases are awaiting additional documentation from farmers before payments can be processed.
Why some animals were deemed ineligible
Responding to questions from MPs, Veterinary Services Director Christodoulos Pipis explained that compensation is only available for animals that are legally registered.
He said eligible animals must be properly recorded in the Veterinary Services database as belonging to the owner of the affected holding.
As an example, Pipis said that if inspectors found 600 animals on a farm carrying identification linked to another holding and not registered as the property of the affected farmer, no compensation would be paid for those animals.
Partial compensation expected in four cases
Grigoriou described the remaining four cases as complex and said officials had been consulting regularly with the Legal Service, including meetings as recently as last Thursday.
The current approach, he said, is that affected farmers will be compensated only for animals that were legally in their possession and subsequently destroyed as part of disease-control measures.
A final decision is expected from Veterinary Services Director Christodoulos Pipis in his role as the supervising officer, allowing compensation payments to proceed.
The four farmers involved are expected to receive compensation by the end of next week.
Feed and milk compensation continuing
Compensation payments for animal feed are also continuing.
Authorities have approved compensation of €594,827 for 71 beneficiaries relating to one category of feed and €1,059,412 for 70 beneficiaries relating to another.
Officials are also completing the destruction of feed stocks at four additional farms before related compensation payments are issued.
For rejected milk production, compensation totalling €720,248 has been paid to 58 beneficiaries.
Two additional applications remain under review, while three were rejected because farmers failed to provide the documentation required to verify milk prices as part of the claims process.
Additional 15% support under review
Grigoriou said efforts are under way to expedite payment of an additional 15% support measure for eligible beneficiaries.
However, authorities have identified the need for further regulatory adjustments to ensure the measure is implemented in compliance with legal requirements.
Income-loss compensation still being examined
MPs also sought an update on compensation for loss of income, noting that many affected farmers are currently relying on compensation payments while their normal business activity remains suspended.
Grigoriou said authorities expect within the next two weeks to finalise the methodology for calculating income-loss compensation, in line with recommendations made by the relevant advisory committee.
He clarified that compensation for loss of income will be available only to livestock farmers who choose to resume operations.
