President Nikos Christodoulides on Sunday denied that “chaos” is prevailing in the government’s handling of the ongoing outbreak of foot and mouth disease, during a visit to a memorial service for Eoka fighters in the Troodos mountain village of Palaichori.

“I want to clarify that there is no chaos. We are in contact with all the livestock farmers’ groups. We are in contact with all the agricultural organisations. I want to say this publicly, and I hope it will continue, that there is a willingness from everyone to cooperate even more to face this specific challenge,” he said.

He added that he “truly” believes that “based on the planning we have, based on the plan we have, that if this cooperation continues, very soon, we will be able to say that we have successfully dealt with foot and mouth disease”.

“Beyond that, there is another dimension which concerns the government’s approach to livestock farmers. We have been by their side from the very beginning. You have also seen our recent decisions,” he said, in reference to the allocation of compensation to livestock farmers whose animals have been culled as a result of the outbreak.

To this end, he said that “if you compare them with similar decisions at the European level, the decisions taken by our own government are clearly very strong, and I am talking about the financial support”.

He then added that “will not call it compensation, but financial support”.

“I am happy, because we can do it because of our responsible fiscal policy, but it is also an indication of how much we believe in our country’s agricultural sector. We are an island; we are a remote country. It is of utmost importance that the agricultural sector be supported,” he said.

To this end, he said that “I can assure you, I can assure our livestock farmers, that we will stand by them until the very end, until we revitalise this important sector of our economy, which, I repeat, is of utmost necessity”.

Accusations of “chaos” came after a newly formed group calling itself the “voice of livestock breeders” threatened last week to block the Rizoelia roundabout, which sits at the intersection of the motorway connecting Larnaca and Nicosia, and the motorway connecting Larnaca and Ayia Napa, on Friday, in protest at the government’s handling of the outbreak.

While they were eventually persuaded not to hold their protest, group representative Stella Petrou continued to insist on a meeting with Christodoulides to discuss the crisis, with the group having repeatedly stated their opposition to the culling of livestock.

However, officials have repeatedly stated that the culling of all animals on a farm once it is infected with foot and mouth disease is a requirement of European Union law and as such, not negotiable.