Farmers to protest over subsidies

Farmers announced a protest outside the presidential palace on Thursday demanding the immediate payment of state subsidies.

The announcement was made after a meeting with President Nicos Anastasiades but not all farmers’ organisations will be taking part in the 11am demo.

Three groups insisted in holding the protest and urged farmers to participate while two said it was pointless since their demands would be met in 10 to 15 days.

The two organisations said it would only mean unnecessary expenses and inconvenience.

Agriculture payments commissioner Timis Efthymiou said the payment of subsidies will start after Christmas. They concern 3,000 farmers who will share €3.5m in headage subsidies and area based subsidies worth €50m paid to 34,000 people. The latter will be paid at the end of January.

Deputy spokesman Victoras Papadopoulos said “a satisfactory solution has been found at a first stage.”

“I think it is unjustified,” Papadopoulos said of the decision to protest. “Solutions were given to certain problems today. Regarding their other demands, a total of 22, the president has pledged… to hold a broader meeting with the finance and agriculture ministers so as to resolve some of these problems.”

Papadopoulos said the delay over the area based subsidies was because of a problem that emerged with the European Commission on whether the payments were made properly last year.

The Republic argues that the payments were made in a proper way and this is what it was trying to explain to the Commission, Papadopoulos said.

EKA chief Panicos Hambas argued that subsidies would not be paid at all because the EU was going to fine Cyprus over the mistakes the government made previously.

 

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