Farmers in Cyprus to Receive €50,000 Each Following Foot-and-Mouth Disease Outbreak

Farmers affected by the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Cyprus will begin receiving their first compensation payments as early as next week. This was announced by the Minister of Agriculture, Maria Panayiotou.

According to her, the payments will consist of an advance of €50,000 and are calculated based on current market prices to help livestock farmers meet their financial obligations.

Currently:

— approximately 70% of cattle and 40% of sheep and goats have been vaccinated;

— around 25,000 cases have been identified;

— approximately 15,000 animals have been culled, and the process is ongoing.

The Minister noted that nationwide vaccination should be completed by the end of March.

Panayiotou also emphasized the importance of monitoring the situation in the northern part of the island and has requested information from the bi-communal technical committee.

Commenting on calls for her resignation, the Minister stated that the decision rests with the President, adding that there are long-term systemic problems within the ministry that she has been addressing since taking office.