Increasing sheep and goat productivity and developing livestock fattening units away from existing farms are among the key priorities of a report by the Special Scientific Committee on the restructuring of the livestock sector, its head, Stavros Malas, told CNA.
Malas submitted the report to the President of the Republic on Thursday, saying that ‘the government is satisfied with most of the points we have highlighted’.
He said the Committee’s work focused on two main areas, the first concerning how farms affected by foot-and-mouth disease should be managed to prevent a similar outbreak from recurring.
‘We found that 84 of the 121 farms were located in livestock farming zones, with units situated next to one another,’ he said, noting that the risk of the disease spreading in such circumstances was extremely high.
‘Livestock farming zones made the problem much worse,’ he added.
The Committee made recommendations on how farmers who choose to return to livestock farming should do so, with emphasis on easing overcrowding in these zones. Malas noted that not all affected farmers were expected to return to the sector and that reorganisation would be needed where necessary.
The second part of the report contained broader proposals for the livestock sector. Malas said dairy and meat production needed to be developed in a balanced way.
Dairy production supports the halloumi industry, he said, but the challenges were not limited to the cheese’s Protected Designation of Origin status. They also included requirements that traders in Europe were expected to introduce regarding biosecurity, animal welfare and environmental responsibility.
‘Difficult decisions will have to be made regarding the halloumi trade,’ he said.
Turning to meat production, Malas said the supply chain had not been properly developed, leading to a ‘vast shadow economy involving the occupied areas’ and the movement and trade of livestock intended for slaughter.
‘We have not ensured suitable fattening conditions that would allow animals to reach their full productive potential,’ he said.
Malas said sheep and goat farming required the greatest support to increase animal productivity, while cattle farming needed improvements in animal welfare, biosecurity and productivity.
‘We need to increase productivity per animal so that we can produce milk with fewer animals,’ he added.
Media reports on Friday put the cost of the proposals at pound 610 million. Malas neither confirmed nor denied the figure, but said the measures would have to be financed from national funds.
He noted that the EU’s next funding cycle would begin in 2028 and that Cyprus could secure funds through the Common Agricultural Policy.
Malas also expressed the personal view that Cyprus might be able to discuss ad hoc funding with the European Commission, given the particular circumstances arising from the government’s inability to exercise effective control over part of its territory, which left the livestock sector more exposed to risks.
Asked which measures he considered most urgent, Malas said subsidies should immediately be provided for the establishment of livestock fattening units in areas away from existing farms.
This would allow animals to be transferred from livestock production farms to specialised fattening units, ease overcrowding in livestock farming zones and put the meat trade on a proper footing, he explained.
The measure would help address problems in the meat trade that had led to the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, while also stabilising sheep and goat prices and increasing revenue for cattle farmers, he said.
A second priority was the launch next year of a livestock replacement programme aimed at increasing productivity, using ‘modern breeding techniques and modern genetic analysis methods’.
Importing more productive animals was not the solution, Malas said, as only limited numbers could be brought into Cyprus and were therefore unlikely to make a significant difference.
Instead, the aim was to establish breeding populations of local or imported breeds on farms unaffected by foot-and-mouth disease, which could then serve as a source of livestock for the domestic market.
In a statement on Thursday, Malas said the Committee’s findings and recommendations would be presented publicly in due course.