Minister reaffirms commitment to agriculture

One of the government’s priorities is ensuring the sustainability of the agriculture sector, with fair and stable incomes for farmers, improvement of their quality of life, and food security, Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou said on Tuesday.

She was speaking after the House agriculture committee, where she had outlined to MPs her ministry’s plans through 2028.

Countering criticism over the state’s lack of support for farmers faced with increasing production costs, Panayiotou said the ministry was examining targeted measures to support them and recalled that Cabinet had decided to set aside €4 million to this end.

She also noted that the ministry was seeking to improve its risk management plan for the industry, in terms of [expediting] payment of compensation following crop failures, as well as building infrastructure that, to the extent possible, would shield farmers from adverse weather events.