Four livestock farms affected by the recent foot-and-mouth disease outbreak have yet to receive compensation, according to Pancyprian Farmers' Union president Kyriakos Kailas, who warned that producers cannot remain inactive indefinitely while awaiting decisions from the authorities.
Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), Kailas said all other affected farmers had received compensation payments, but four units were still waiting. He stressed that the agreed policy is for all affected operators to be compensated and argued that any concerns regarding possible irregularities should be investigated separately without delaying payments.
Demand for income-loss compensation
Kailas said his main concern is not only the outstanding payments but the delayed reactivation of affected farms.
He noted that during a meeting held earlier this week, the union warned that if the reopening process does not move forward within the next 20 days, it will demand the immediate commencement of compensation payments for lost income.
"You cannot tell someone that they will not be working for seven or eight months and expect them simply to wait," he said, adding that while farmers understand the difficulties involved, authorities must also recognise that people need to return to work.
Support package deemed insufficient
The farmers' leader also criticised the level of financial support provided to the agricultural sector.
He said the union had informed officials during a meeting two weeks ago that the compensation package was inadequate and did not benefit all sectors to the extent farmers had hoped.
According to Kailas, the €4.6 million available through European funds could have been increased by 200%, but this option was not approved because of a differing position taken by the Finance Ministry.
He argued that a larger funding package would have allowed more meaningful support and expanded eligibility to sectors currently excluded.
"We are watching the primary sector decline day by day," he said. "The measures moved in the right direction and we welcomed them, but they should have been more substantial."
Dispute over agricultural fuel scheme
Kailas also raised concerns about the government's agricultural diesel support scheme.
He said disagreements remain over the safeguards included in the programme, noting that a cap is triggered when producers have already received subsidies exceeding €5,000.
The timing of the measure has also become a point of contention.
According to Kailas, farmers typically purchase fuel during the autumn planting and cultivation season, making the planned deadline problematic.
"These are the months when farmers buy diesel. How is it possible to close the scheme at the end of October?" he said.
The union has urged the Agriculture Ministry to keep the programme open until December.
Source: CNA
