President Nikos Christodoulides on Monday urged livestock farmers to work more closely with authorities, suggesting that better cooperation could have led to improved outcomes in addressing the current crisis.
Speaking to journalists ahead of the inauguration of the new Medical and Biological Sciences Teaching Building “Dr Artemis Hadjipanagis”, the President said the government has been in contact with organised farming groups from the outset, as well as with the European Union.
“From the very first moment I have been in contact with all organised groups of livestock farmers. The European Union Commissioner himself came. We are in contact with the European Union,” he said.
He added that a lack of cooperation has hindered progress.
“If there had been the necessary cooperation up to now, the results would clearly have been better. As long as there is no cooperation from everyone, unfortunately we will not have positive results,” he said.
Christodoulides stressed that adherence to established protocols remains essential in tackling the situation, noting that these are in line with practices followed in other countries.
“What matters above all is that we implement and follow these protocols, which are applied everywhere, in order to address the serious risk we are facing,” he said.
He also reiterated that he is open to meeting any stakeholders who request a discussion.
“I have no issue meeting anyone who wishes to meet with me,” he said.
The President added that the government has a specific plan in place to address income losses and provide compensation, underlining the importance of the livestock sector.
“For us, the livestock sector is very important and we are here to support all farmers, whom we view as partners, despite developments we have seen recently that were not positive,” he said.
Source: CNA