Cyprus offers €10m in farm schemes after foot-and-mouth outbreak
Three programmes will help affected livestock farmers restock with high-quality animals, relocate to safer ground or quit the sector, on top of €20m already paid in compensation.
The Republic is drafting three support programmes totalling €10 million for livestock holdings damaged by foot-and-mouth disease, as reported by Cyprus Mail. The measures follow €20m in compensation already earmarked for animals destroyed, feed losses and milk no longer produced.
The largest scheme, worth €6m, targets sheep, goat and cattle units that intend to resume production with breeding stock bought from certified donor farms. The remaining two, €2m each, are designed to take pressure off the worst-hit farming areas by financing the demolition of farm buildings.
The programmes, run by the Department of Agriculture, are out for public consultation and will be reviewed on 18 November by the ministry's advisory committee for affected farmers before going to the Commissioner for State Aid Control and the Finance Ministry.
What it means for residents
For anyone who buys Cypriot halloumi, milk or meat, the outbreak has already shown how quickly local supply can tighten. The new schemes decide whether affected farms come back at all, and whether the animals that replace them are healthier stock.
- Restocking premium: where certified breeding animals cost more than the culling payout for the same number of head, the difference is covered — a reason to restart rather than walk away.
- Exit or move: farmers in affected zones can demolish licensed buildings at 100% of current value (80% if unlicensed), with a 20% bonus for demolition within three months of final approval.
- Watch the deadlines: compensation depends on rebuilding at least 30% of productive livestock within eight months of the Veterinary Services certificate, paid half on proof of an animal order and half once restarting is confirmed.
This text is written from the source article and is not a translation of it.
