Sheep and goat producers ask for deadline extension

On Tuesday the sheep and goat producers' union called on Agriculture Minister Christos Senekis to intervene so that Wednesday’s deadline for the animal inventory can be pushed back by at least one month.

In a letter to the minister the union explained that several farms must finish the genotyping process through the Veterinary Services before the inventory can be closed, and that the inventory serves as an eligibility criterion for interventions under the Common Agricultural Policy strategic plan for 2023-2027 and any future capital aid measures.

The large number of units and animals combined with limited Veterinary Services staff makes meeting the deadline extremely difficult and in some cases practically impossible, the union said. In Limassol alone there are about 80 farms with a total of 14,000 animals that still need genotyping, a figure that indicates the scale of the problem. Further delays have arisen from measures taken to contain the foot and mouth outbreak.

Beyond a deadline extension the union argued that the Veterinary Services need additional personnel. It warned that it would be particularly unfair for producers to lose access to the upcoming CAP strategic plan 2023-2027 interventions or other aid because of delays that were not their fault.