Farm groups urge wider drought aid after government allocates €4.6 million

Nicosia, Cyprus. Five agricultural organisations criticised the government on Monday over its decision to earmark €4.6 million from EU funding for partial compensation for crop damage caused by drought and high temperatures in 2025. They said the planned assistance would exclude many farmers.

Calls to increase funding

PEK, EKA, Panagrotikos, Nea Agrotiki and Euroagrotikos said the government had failed to use a provision in European regulations permitting it to supplement the allocation by up to 200 per cent.

The organisations argued that making use of that provision would allow meaningful assistance. They said entire sectors, including potatoes, vines, fruit and other crops, had been omitted from the scheme.

They had written to the president in September seeking more funding so that support could cover every crop. Their proposals appeared not to have been considered, they said, leaving a substantial share of the farming population outside the planned assistance.

Request to broaden the scheme

The groups said higher production costs and severe financial strain made it necessary for the government to use every available option to help farmers. They described the failure to make full use of available resources, alongside the exclusion of producers experiencing serious financial difficulties, as unacceptable.

They urged the government to review its decision and either broaden the scheme or provide supplementary assistance to ensure coverage across all sectors.

The organisations said farmers were seeking fairness rather than privileges, with equal assistance and full use of the means available to safeguard the viability of agriculture in Cyprus.