Dialogos

AKEL Takes the Lead: Emergency Agriculture Committee on Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Published February 23, 2026, 12:01
AKEL Takes the Lead: Emergency Agriculture Committee on Foot-and-Mouth Disease

AKEL is taking the initiative to address the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Cyprus, expressing serious concern about the spread of the disease and its impact on livestock farming. The party accuses the government of delaying measures when the first cases were identified in the occupied territories and calls for accountability for the omissions. At the same time, AKEL seeks calm and effective crisis management with immediate support for affected farmers. AKEL has secured an emergency meeting of the Parliamentary Agriculture Committee for Tuesday, February 24, where the Ministry of Agriculture, Veterinary Services, and relevant authorities will be asked to present and justify their actions. The committee will examine the scale of the crisis, its causes, and the measures that need to be taken to limit the spread of the disease. The same messages are coming from other parliamentary parties, with statements expressing strong concern and demanding swift accountability from the government. Parties are calling for immediate measures to contain the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak and support farmers, especially those who will suffer economic losses. DISY points out that not all necessary preventive measures were taken and calls on the government to adopt a series of proposals, including the declaration of protection zones, strengthening border controls, tracing animal movements, and providing immediate financial compensation to those affected. The situation is considered critical for livestock farming, the agricultural economy, the food chain and exports.