“This is this year’s grape harvest. It’s not even good enough for vinegar.”
_{Christodoulos – Farmer}

Christodoulos is fighting his own battle as a farmer and is currently facing a very difficult year, due to fungal diseases and other factors.

ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ

19.10.2026 14:51

Troodos winegrowers are speaking out and asking for support from the government

18.10.2026 13:47

Minister of Agriculture: Our policy is to strengthen the primary sector

“Wine, zivania, palouzes, pickles, and many other products are affected.”
_{Christodoulos – Farmer}

Theocharis is in the same boat—he’s another one of the few young people who stayed in their villages to start a family and support their community.
 
Income this year is much lower than in previous years.

“The grapevines really don’t like summer rain. The result is diseases like downy mildew, powdery mildew, and leaf scorch.”
_{Theocharis – Farmer}

Both are calling on the government to take these problems seriously, since otherwise the region’s primary sector will be destroyed, and, as a result, the mountain communities will take yet another step toward decline.

“Production of black Xynisteri has dropped by 80 to 85 percent.”
_{Theocharis – Farmer}

Rising Costs

In Cyprus, it’s customary for everything to go up except incomes, which is also the case for these farmers, who are seeing their expenses rise dramatically.

“Diesel, pesticides, fertilizers, electricity. Everything has gone up.”
_{Christodoulos – Farmer}

Energy… gaps

Another farmer from the region, an agronomist by profession, Nicholas, brought up another issue: the lack of long-term planning to reduce energy costs in mountainous areas.

How can this be achieved? By creating self-sufficient energy communities.

“This essentially involves the self-organization of local communities so that they can generate energy from renewable sources and consume it themselves, thereby reducing taxes and environmental fees and cutting energy costs by at least half.”
_{Nicholas – Farmer/Agronomist}

Until this model is implemented, of course—a model we’ve seen for half a century in countries like Germany and Austria —Cypriot farmers in the mountains will continue to fight their own battle, under conditions that no official will need to address.

Watch Giorgos Chrysanthos’s report: