Increasing the productivity of sheep and goats and developing fattening facilities away from existing ones are a priority, Stavros Malas, head of the Special Scientific Committee for the restructuring of the livestock sector, Stavros Malas, told CNA.
Mr. Malas submitted his report to the President of the Republic on Thursday and, as he noted, “the government is satisfied with most of the points we highlighted” regarding the Committee’s findings.
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As he explained, the Commission’s work was based on two main pillars. First, the government must address the farms affected by foot-and-mouth disease in order to prevent a recurrence of the problem to the extent possible. “We saw that 84 of the 121 farms were located in livestock-raising areas where the farms were situated side by side,” he said, noting that the risk of disease transmission in these cases is enormous. “Livestock-raising areas made the problem much worse,” he pointed out.
The Commission made recommendations on how livestock farmers who wish to resume operations should do so, emphasizing the need to reduce overcrowding in livestock-raising areas, noting that not everyone will resume operations. It also added that reorganization must take place where deemed necessary, in light of the situation.
The second part of the report concerned broader proposals on how livestock farming should be organized. Mr. Malas stated that there needs to be a balanced development of dairy and meat production.
Regarding milk production, he said that it is the foundation of halloumi production, noting, however, that the challenges do not concern only the PDO but also the requirements that European traders will impose, which relate to biosafety, animal welfare, and environmental awareness. “Difficult decisions lie ahead for the halloumi trade,” she said.
On the other hand, regarding the meat production chain, Stavros Malas noted that to date it has not been properly developed, resulting in the emergence of a “huge underground economy in the occupied territories,” involving the movement and trade of animals for meat consumption. “We have not ensured proper conditions for fattening animals so that they can yield maximum productivity,” he said.
He added that goat and sheep farming needs the most support in order to make the animals more productive. On the other hand, dairy farming needs to improve in terms of animal welfare, biosecurity, and animal productivity. “We need to increase productivity per animal so that we can produce milk with fewer animals,” he said.
Today’s news reports mentioned that the proposals are estimated to cost €610 million. He neither confirmed nor denied the figure. He noted, however, that these measures must be funded through national expenditures. He reminded that the European Commission’s new funding package begins in 2028 and that funds can be secured through the CAP.
He also expressed his personal view that it is possible for Cyprus to discuss ad hoc funding with the Commission, given the unique situation of not exercising effective control over part of the territory, which makes livestock farming more vulnerable to risks.
When asked about the priorities he considers most critical to implement, he said that livestock fattening facilities in areas remote from existing facilities must be immediately subsidized and developed. This, he explained, would lead to the transfer of animals from production facilities to fattening facilities, relieve congestion in livestock-raising areas, and put the meat trade—which was the cause of foot-and-mouth disease—on a sound footing, while at the same time it will stabilize prices for sheep and goats and generate more revenue for dairy farmers.
The second point concerns the launch, starting next year, of an animal replacement program. “Using modern breeding methods and modern genetic analysis techniques,” as he put it. He responded that the solution is not to import more productive animals from abroad, as the number that can be imported will be limited and is not expected to make a significant difference.
The key, he said, is to establish core herds of native or imported breeds in facilities unaffected by foot-and-mouth disease, and for these to serve as the source for meeting local market demand.
In his announcement yesterday, Mr. Malas stated that the Commission’s findings and recommendations would be presented publicly in the near future.
