Cyprus agricultural organizations demand the President’s personal intervention in the foot-and-mouth disease situation

Agricultural associations of the Republic of Cyprus, including the “Voice of Livestock Farmers” union, have called for a decisive and far-reaching intervention by President Nikos Christodoulides to overcome the crisis caused by the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak. An official meeting between the head of state and representatives of the agricultural sector is scheduled for Tuesday morning at the Presidential Palace. This event will be preceded by a closed meeting, where the epidemiological team and the Veterinary Services will provide the President with up-to-date data on the spread of the virus, as well as assess the measures already taken and the effectiveness of financial support for affected farmers.

Farmers are extremely concerned about the current quality of coordination of control measures and are demanding that approaches to crisis management be reconsidered in order to stop the further spread of the infection. In addition to veterinary and quarantine protocols, farmers are raising the issue of direct compensation payments, minimizing cascading economic losses for the sector, and expressing deep concern over state decisions affecting the production of traditional halloumi cheese. The chairman of the Pancyprian Farmers’ Union (PEK), Christos Papapetrou, stressed that the problem has long ceased to be solely a technical veterinary issue and has acquired a serious political dimension, which is why the entire state as a whole must become actively involved in the process, not just individual departments.