FARMERS ARE ready to do what it takes to get out of the “tragic” situation the island’s drought-stricken agriculture is in, after months of “neglect” by the government.
After three years of drought, farmers are struggling to keep up with spiralling costs and are fast losing patience with perceived inaction on the part of the government.
Georgios Kamilaris, who speaks on behalf of all farming organisations, said farmers could no longer wait for the government to dig deep in its pockets.
“I’m not exaggerating when I say the situation is tragic. Local production of hay and straw was zero this year. We have had to import animal feed for the first time ever at three times the price. This is destroying us. Farmers are forced to slaughter less productive animals, just so the others can survive,” he said.
“It’s been known since February, March that we are suffering severe drought. Six months have passed and still nothing from the government. We are not satisfied with this. They say everyone in Brussels is on holiday but our lives don’t revolve around when EU officials come back from holiday. We can’t accept this,” said Kamilaris.
Both agriculture and livestock farmers will meet this coming Monday to evaluate the situation and decide what measures to take.
Kamilaris refused to be drawn into speculation that some farmers were ready to block airports, ports and even warehouses for oil storage.
“Nothing has been decided yet. Everything’s on the table. It’s on the agenda to take whatever decisions are deemed necessary,” he said.
The last time truck drivers blocked the ports, the economy suffered losses in the millions of pounds.
“You must understand we don’t want to take dynamic measures. We are all between 40 and 60. We are not of an age where we want to be doing these things,” he added.
The farmers estimate that losses from the three main agriculture sectors – livestock farmers, goat and sheep farmers and wheat farmers – have incurred losses over €60 million.
“We are only asking what all EU farmers are entitled to. Just recently, Romanian farmers were given state aid up to €400 million because of drought,” said Kamilaris.
The farmers’ spokesman argued that the government could have supported the farmers by now without needing EU approval if they had set up a special emergency fund.
“We should have had this set up in 2007. Unfortunately, now we have to go to the Council of Ministers in Brussels to get approval.”
Kamilaris expressed hope that the government would come up with a comprehensive proposal before Monday’s meeting.
For its part, the government ensured it would not leave the farmers to their own fate.
“The government will support the farmers during this difficult period. We recognise the tragic situation they are in,” said Agriculture Minister Michalis Polinikis.
A ministry official told the Cyprus Mail that getting EU approval to provide state aid was not so simple. It has only been given 13 times in the past, once already to Cyprus.
“It’s not a given. We need unanimous approval by all member states. Denmark, for example, needs to get its parliament to support the approval,” said the official.
MEP Ioannis Kasoulides also waded into the debate yesterday, calling on the government to stop blaming the EU and get on with helping the farmers.
The MEP said he felt compelled to intervene since “yet again I see efforts from AKEL deputies to excuse the government’s procrastination by throwing the ball in the EU’s court.”
The former presidential candidate asked whether livestock farmers had been informed that import tariffs on animal feed from third countries were abolished in July. He also questioned whether government officials had checked whether this tax exemption was reflected in new retail prices.
“The Cyprus government must act immediately, make its intentions known and not hesitate about the response of the European Commission,” said Kasoulides.
