Gavriel said that the contribution of the agricultural sector to the country's GDP (1.8%), the number of people employed in the sector (16.8 thousand), their share in the labour force (3.8%), have remained stagnant at best for the last nine years.
He said that at the same time, he said, the outlook is bleak, since the only indicator that is rising at a dizzying pace is the cost of production, unlike the disposable income of farmers and livestock farmers, which is constantly decreasing.
He added that the government must take immediate measures to address the high cost of production and support farmers' income.
"If this crisis is not addressed, it may cancel the success of the PDO registration of haloumi and affect our ability to respond to the prospects it opens up," he added.
Gavriel also said that "the government in its course has shown a memorable persistence and targeting in tearing down institutions that have supported farmers over the years" and added that "after Co-operatism, OGA, the last victim was the Grains Commission".
He also said that Famagusta, where he comes from, "is experiencing on the one hand the end of the Cyprus problem and the negative developments in our Famagusta and on the other hand the overwhelming consequences of the pandemic" and added that the free province of Famagusta is not limited to the coastal front.
"Projects and policies are needed, evenly distributed throughout the province, so that the benefits of tourism are spread to everyone," he added.
Finally, Gabriel said that despite disappointment over the negative developments in the Cyprus problem, for which the government bears heavy responsibility, he said, "we will never settle for occupation, we will never settle for partition."
Source: CNA
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