Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment, Dr. Maria Panayiotou, has stressed the need for adequate financial support to farmers to address new challenges in agriculture, and referred to the impact on agriculture in Cyprus from the prolonged drought.

The Minister was speaking at the Council of Ministers of Agriculture and Fisheries of the European Union that was held in Brussels on 18 November 2024.

According to an official press release, she noted that the situation of the EU markets is mainly affected by the effects of climate change and international instability, as well as by the need for generational renewal in agriculture.

Regarding Cyprus, the Minister stressed the serious impact on agriculture from the prolonged drought, with losses in some cases reaching 100%. She also referred to the increased production costs, the inability to borrow for agricultural investments, but also to the weakness of the agriculture in Cyprus due to its distance from the markets of continental Europe. She also talked about the need for  measures to strengthen the resilience of rural areas to crises, both within and outside the Common Agricultural Policy.

In addition, the Minister informed her counterparts that Cyprus is currently hosting the 24th annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), supporting the common commitment to sustainable management of tuna and other highly migratory species.

She reiterated Cyprus' commitment to promoting sustainable and scientific fisheries management, taking into account the sensitive socio-economic balances of the fishing sector.

The Cypriot Minister also supported Spain's document to extend the implementation of investments by one year, in order to facilitate the beneficiaries in completing their investments, without the risk of losing relevant EU funds. Concluding, she called on the European Commission to take action to satisfy the request.