Paphos winegrowers took to the streets on Saturday to protest over the government’s decision to limit compensation to only certain grape varieties affected by downy mildew, a move they say has left many producers in an untenable position.

“We ask and demand that all varieties be compensated. Winegrowers need financial support to be able to cope with the extremely difficult conditions that have been created,” said winegrowers’ representative Myros Yiagkou.

The agriculture ministry had earlier announced that damage declarations would be accepted only for the Mavro, Maratheftiko, Xynisteri and Vasilissa grape varieties, prompting strong objections from producers of other affected varieties, who have effectively been excluded from the compensation scheme.

The producers rejected the ministry’s assessment that those four varieties accounted for more than 50 per cent of the damage, insisting that several other varieties had also suffered total crop losses.

Panagrotikos Paphos district secretary Panikos Kaponas described the situation as “a total disaster”, saying agricultural organisations had written to the ministry calling for the immediate inclusion of all grape varieties in the compensation scheme.

The district secretary of the union of Cypriot farmers in Paphos, Herodotus Antoniadis, also called for immediate support measures, stressing that viticulture makes a significant contribution to the Cypriot economy.

He urged the government to compensate all affected varieties to ensure winegrowers could stay in business and “keep the Cypriot countryside alive“.

Local district government president Charalambos Pittokopitis likewise called on the government to support the agricultural sector, particularly the region’s wine industry, saying downy mildew had affected vineyards across the district regardless of grape variety.

He added that the damage extended throughout the province and said he had asked the agriculture ministry to carry out fresh inspections to determine the true extent of the losses.

The ministry confirmed that a new inspection would take place at the end of August, as the outbreak is still ongoing.

Downy mildew is a common fungal disease that affects grapevines and can severely reduce yields across entire wine-growing regions.

The disease causes yellow spots on leaves and is mostly prevalent in summer, when conditions are ideal for the fungus. The spores of the disease are spread by wind and rain, thereby infecting entire vineyards and crops.