Beyond the new EU Common Agricultural Policy, the mobilisations planned for next Thursday are being driven both by delays in the payment of area-based subsidies and by demands for the inclusion of all agricultural sectors in electricity subsidy schemes.
Growing discontent among Cypriot farmers
In the wake of large-scale farmer protests in Greece, and ahead of a major pan-European demonstration scheduled for next Thursday in Brussels over the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), signs of mobilisation are also emerging in Cyprus, where farmers face issues with their own specific characteristics.
Although the Ministry of Agriculture announced on Thursday the payment of financial support totalling €18.8 million to 8,600 farmers affected by adverse conditions in 2025, as well as the allocation of €1 million to subsidise part of electricity consumption for the period July 2024 to August 2025, these measures appear insufficient to satisfy the agricultural sector.
Uncertainty over the payment of area-based subsidies amounting to €47.6 million to approximately 28,000 beneficiaries before the Christmas holidays, along with the exclusion of certain farmers from electricity subsidies, has begun to fuel reactions. Union representatives warn that if these demands are not met, farmers may maintain a permanent presence on the roads, following the example of Greece.
“Half of the €18.8 million is money we paid ourselves”
“We will take to the streets and stay there until the problems are solved,” warned the President of the Pancyprian Farmers’ Association, Kyriakos Kailas, speaking on Friday to POLITIS 107.6, referring to the continued non-payment of area-based subsidies.
He said the government argues that the delay is due to the late submission of beneficiary lists from the Department of Lands and Surveys to the Cyprus Agricultural Payments Organisation (CAPO). At the same time, he commented that the recent announcement of €18.8 million in financial aid does not reflect the real situation, as €9 million of that amount consists of self-insurance contributions paid by the farmers themselves.
“We must speak accurately. You cannot refer to something that I myself am paying,” Kailas said.
Demand to include more sectors in electricity subsidies
From his side, the Secretary General of the Pancyprian Farmers’ Association, Tasos Yiapanis, told Politis that the €1 million allocated for electricity subsidies excludes entire sectors of the agricultural community, creating unrest.
By way of example, he said that all livestock farmers are excluded, including electricity supply to livestock units, as well as farmers who use diesel fuel to operate boreholes. At the same time, he noted that diesel consumption costs more than electricity.
He stressed that the government should allocate a larger amount so that all farmers are entitled to subsidies, without dividing them into two “classes”.
Opposition to the new Common Agricultural Policy
According to Kailas and Yiapanis, the above issues are among the main reasons why all agricultural organisations in Cyprus will take part in mobilisations next Thursday.
Firstly, they aim to align with farmers across the EU, who on the same day will gather with tractors in Brussels to send a unified message to the European Commission. European farmers, particularly from southern countries, point to reduced spending on agriculture in the new seven-year EU budget.
Specifically, while annual CAP expenditure in the outgoing seven-year budget was close to €400 billion, under the new agreement it will be reduced by approximately €80 billion, farmer representatives say. “Ursula von der Leyen wants to starve Europe, making the EU increasingly dependent on imports,” said the head of the Italian federation, Ettore Prandini.
Thursday’s mobilisations in Nicosia
On the same day, given that Cyprus is an island and Cypriot farmers cannot travel to Brussels, they will take to the streets of Nicosia in a convoy to submit a memorandum to the Presidential Palace and then to the House of Europe.
In addition to the CAP, area-based subsidy payments and exclusions from electricity support, there are other issues concerning Cypriot farmers. These include demands related to tax reform, which is due to be put to a vote in Parliament on 22 December, as well as legislation concerning Turkish Cypriot and forest land.
Indicatively, Yiapanis highlighted the demand to lift the ban preventing farmers from subleasing Turkish Cypriot agricultural land to professional farmers in the sector.
This article was originally published on the Greek-language Politis website.