Addressing the Pancyprian Congress of the Cyprus Pan-Agricultural Association, held in Zygi, the minister said that "Russia's recent invasion of Ukraine, combined with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, have caused a chain of negative effects on the social and economic spectrum of all countries. The impact on the primary sector has been particularly pronounced and in Cyprus, due to the many specificities of the primary sector, the consequences of the successive crises have been even greater."
He added that "the achievement of the objectives of the Ministry of Agriculture requires cooperation and engagement with both the Panagrotikos and other agricultural organisations, through a fruitful, sincere and constructive dialogue" and thanked "warmly the entire agricultural movement and especially the Panagrotikos, for their general attitude and their decisive contribution to the implementation of the Government's policies over the last four years, with the aim of modernising the agricultural sector, increasing rural income, raising the standard of living in the Cypriot countryside and protecting the natural environment".
Our Ministry's strategic objective, Mr. Kadis continued, "is the continuous progress and development of our agricultural sector, having as priorities the modernization and improvement of the competitiveness of farms and the support of the production of quality agricultural products. To achieve these objectives, we have put in place all available European financial instruments," he said and noted that "for the transitional period of the Rural Development Programme 2021-22, programmes and support measures have been designed, the budget of which is close to 100 million euros."
In his address, the Minister also said that "the Government is exploiting all existing possibilities for dealing with the pandemic and is trying to reduce its economic impact. At the same time, in the agricultural sector, more than 30 total measures have been taken to date to address the effects of the pandemic and more than 25 million euros have been allocated to support all agricultural sectors affected."
Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he continued, "brings additional negative impacts on the economy and we have to manage both the energy crisis it has caused and a potential crisis in food supply and sufficiency and increased costs in feed and agro-food. The government, in order to address these issues and in constant consultation with the agricultural movement, is exploiting all existing possibilities, aiming primarily at reducing the economic impact," he said, adding that "soon financial support of about 8 million euros will be paid to the sheep and goat, cow and pig sectors."
He also said that "Cyprus was one of the few countries in the European Union that immediately and without delay gave support, through its national budget, to its agricultural sector for the consequences of the Russian invasion. Cyprus was a leading player in the effort to convince the European Commission to allocate additional funds from the Community budget to support farmers because of the situation in Ukraine" he said and noted that "it seems that this effort seems to be successful".
Referring to the Cyprus Recovery and Resilience Plan, as part of the EU's effort to recover the economies of member states affected by the pandemic, the minister said that "an amount of 1.2 billion euros or so will be made available to Cyprus for investments and reforms beneficial to the economy of our country. Even with the use of other resources, the total amount that will be allocated for the Government's ambitious 'Cyprus Tomorrow' plan can exceed four billion euros, a significant part of which can be allocated to the primary sector."
At the same time he assured that "the well-meaning interests of the agricultural sector and the Cypriot farmer are at the centre of the attention of the Government and the Ministry of Agriculture."
In his address, DISY President Averof Neophytou said that "for decades we have been trying as a state to reduce the impact on the agricultural sector and livestock farming."
In his address, DISY President Averof Neophytou said that "for decades we have been trying as a state to reduce the impact on the agricultural sector and livestock farming. Today, after the economic crisis, we experienced the pandemic crisis and before we got rid of the pandemic crisis, we are facing a new crisis due to the war in Ukraine with an increase in the cost of energy and more, resulting in soaring costs for farmers and livestock farmers."
At the time, he continued, "when the prices of energy, feed and fertilizers have risen sharply, along with the reduction of production in war situations, we will have an increase in agricultural products. The bet is to keep the increase and through a medium-term planning and incentives to the Cypriot farmer and livestock farmer, to reduce costs and risks."
We have to continue "to decouple the income of the farmer and livestock farmer from any weather conditions. We live in the 21st century where we can support the Cypriot farmer and breeder with special programmes," he said, noting that "only with radical changes can we stand by our farmers and breeders. But until we implement measures that work in the medium term, I am next to you and next to our government."
In this difficult period, Neophytou said "if Europe does not drastically change traditional policies, the farmer and the breeder will not be able to survive in the short term.We need to go to Europe and clarify that as far as electricity is concerned, temporarily for farmers and livestock farmers, the VAT should not be at 19% but at 5%," he said, adding that "the government needs together with other European countries to clarify this possibility."
He also noted that "if it were not for the government of Nicos Anastasiades and DISY and the right policies to support the rural world, things would be much, much worse today. However, we want to do even more for the backbone of Cypriot society" as he said "many more people, farmers and ranchers are working to produce much less. The percentage of people engaged in agriculture and livestock farming is twice as high as their contribution to the gross national product and compared to all other groups their incomes are at 50% and they cannot survive".
Averof Neophytou expressed "thanks and gratitude" for what farmers and livestock farmers do for Cyprus and noted that "all the struggles of the freedom of the country started from the peasantry".
In his speech, Kyriakos Kailas, President of the Panagrotikos, said that "the last few years have been difficult for each of us, with the economic crisis, the pandemic and now the war. The primary sector has gone through and is going through its most difficult moments after the brutal Turkish invasion."
He added that "the main objective of Panagrotiko's existence is the development of the rural economy, the improvement of the working conditions and living standards of the rural world, the social and technological rise of the agri-food sector and the protection of the environment."
He added that "the main objective of Panagrotiko's existence is the development of the rural economy, the improvement of the working conditions and living standards of the rural world, the social and technological rise of the agri-food sector and the protection of the environment. The only concern of Panagrotikos and its concern is to ensure the just rights of the rural world and for these we fight in all consultations concerning the farmers, supporting and supporting their well-meaning interests."
As Mr. Kailas said, "we have achieved a lot, but there is so much more that we still need to fight to convince the state for its support and help. We do not want to be beggars but sustainable and sovereign in our own operations," he said and assured that "we will not stop working every day to achieve our goals for the benefit of our members, the farming community and society in general."
Source: CNA
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