Reboot of animal farming depends on farmers disinfecting

On Tuesday, veterinary services director Christodoulos Pipis told the House agriculture committee that the restart of livestock operations in foot-and-mouth disease zones hinges on farmers disinfecting their premises. He said the reboot of affected farmers depends on them, emphasizing that the sector's recovery after the highly contagious outbreak is in their hands.

Authorities have culled 52,632 sheep and goats, 24,483 pigs and 3,018 cattle to contain the spread. Those figures represent 11.5 per cent of the sheep and goat population, 7.8 per cent of pigs and 3.5 per cent of cattle. So far 121 farms have tested positive for the disease.

Pipis warned that a handful of producers who plan to exit the business have refused to carry out the required disinfections, blocking neighboring farms that are ready to resume. He said piecemeal disinfection raises the risk of re-infection. The veterinary services can impose fines or launch criminal proceedings, though court cases could drag on for years. A Union of Municipalities representative proposed that officials carry out the disinfections themselves and then bill the owners. Permanent secretary Andreas Gregoriou downplayed the impact, saying only a few farmers are non-cooperative and they will not stop the overall reboot.

On Friday stakeholders will meet at the presidential palace to review a scientific report on rebuilding the sector, compiled by a committee headed by Stavros Malas. Media reports say the dossier recommends that farming units be spaced at least 300 metres apart. It also notes that 84 of the 121 infected farms were clustered closely, which fueled the rapid spread. The government faces large compensation payments for producers who want to leave. Under the veterinary services roadmap, infected farms that wish to restart could do so between November and December, provided no new cases appear in the meantime.