Newsroom
Cattle farmers in Athienou are speaking out after learning the government will cover only part of the cost for installing disinfection points to curb the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, a move they say leaves them out of pocket by thousands of euros.
The Department of Agriculture sent a letter on Feb. 26 to local municipalities outlining funding limits for disinfecting stations, stating that no more than €5,000 per wheel-disinfection point would be reimbursed. But Athienou farmers say the real cost per station is €6,500, a figure they covered themselves after the local municipality said it could not fund the emergency installations.
“The government should have done this, but we stepped up,” said Giorgos Parpas, president of the Athienou Cattle Breeders Association. “We acted fast to protect our animals, our community, and even the government from paying compensation for culled livestock. And now we’re expected to foot the bill ourselves?”
The letter, sent to six municipalities including Athienou, also outlines plans to expand biosecurity measures in areas with five or more livestock farms, especially near the buffer zone and regions where foot-and-mouth cases have been confirmed. Authorities urged municipalities to build disinfection tanks and automated wheel-spraying systems at road entry points to livestock zones.
Parpas said farmers installed eight automated wheel-disinfection systems immediately after new cases were reported in nearby Livadia and Oroklini. Each system includes soaking mats for wheels, and the cost does not include the disinfectants themselves, which farmers also pay for.
“The compensation offered by the Department of Agriculture is insulting,” Parpas said. “We’ve spent our own money and effort on roads that aren’t even part of our farms. Our responsibility is inside the farms, not on public roads.”
Farmers also say no ministry officials guided or supervised the installations, and their request to fund an additional disinfection point on another road has been ignored.
With foot-and-mouth disease threatening the region, Athienou farmers say they acted out of necessity, but they’re frustrated that the government’s support falls far short of covering the reality of the expenses.
