Seven farmers await full FMD compensation as restocking delays persist

Nicosia, Cyprus. Seven farmers have yet to receive full compensation for losses caused by this year’s foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, while delays have also been reported in restocking affected farms, the head of the Voice of Livestock Breeders, Neofytos Neofytou, said on Friday.

Four farmers have received no compensation and three have received up to 15 per cent of the amounts owed, Neofytou told the Cyprus News Agency.

Outstanding compensation claims

Agriculture Minister Christos Senekkis said on Wednesday that more than 100 livestock farms where animals were culled because of the outbreak had received compensation.

Only a handful of cases remained outstanding and the process was expected to be completed within the coming days, he said.

Neofytou said his organisation had written to the agriculture minister seeking a meeting to discuss compensation and the next steps.

He said communication with the Veterinary Services had been difficult and that no clear answers had been provided on full compensation or the resumption of operations.

Restocking plans

Three farms have been told they could begin receiving replacement animals from September 1, Neofytou said, while raising concerns about delays and a Veterinary Services requirement that the animals must not have been vaccinated.

Each farm is expected to receive around 10 animals for a trial period of up to 20 days, after which the animals will be tested for foot-and-mouth disease.

Questions over culled animals

Referring to cases in which the number of culled animals had been questioned, Neofytou said some data may have been incorrect.

However, he said the animals had been purchased, were owned by the farmers and formed part of their property.