Farmers call for support over rising costs

The government should introduce targeted financial support to help farmers meet the rising cost of fertilisers and plant-protection products, the Panagrotikos farmers’ association said on Monday. The association’s secretary-general Anastasis Yiapanis called on the agriculture ministry to draw up and announce a dedicated support scheme, taking into account the particular conditions facing agriculture in Cyprus. He said farmers were struggling with persistently rising production costs, threatening both the viability of agricultural businesses and producers’ incomes. Of particular concern were the costs of fertilisers and plant-protection products, which Yiapanis described as essential inputs for agricultural production. Cyprus faced an additional disadvantage because, as a small island state without a domestic industry producing fertilisers and plant-protection products, it was heavily dependent on imports, he said. This resulted in additional transport and supply costs which were ultimately passed on to farmers. Yiapanis called on the government to respond to farmers’ concerns with concrete measures, arguing that supporting agricultural producers was also important for food security, rural communities, the wider economy and maintaining domestic food production. “Cypriot farmers are not asking for preferential treatment,” he said, but for conditions that would allow them to continue producing while remaining economically viable.