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Eurofound's EU PolicyWatch collates information on the responses of government and social partners to the COVID-19 crisis, the war in Ukraine, rising inflation, as well as gathering examples of company practices aimed at mitigating the social and economic impacts.

Factsheet for measure CY-2021-21/1937 – measures in Cyprus

Temporary support for farmers and SMEs affected by the pandemic

Έκτακτη προσωρινή στήριξη στους γεωργούς και τις ΜΜΕ που πλήττονται ιδιαίτερα από την κρίση της πανδημίας COVID-19

Country Cyprus , applies nationwide
Time period Temporary, 21 May 2021 – 09 July 2021
Context COVID-19, European Semester
Type Other initiatives or policies
Category Supporting businesses to stay afloat
– Direct subsidies (full or partial) or damage compensation
Author Loucas Antoniou (INEK) and Eurofound
Measure added 07 July 2021 (updated 15 July 2021)

Background information

The measure aims to support farmers and agricultural SMEs in selected sectors of primary production that have been particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and pays particular emphasis on professional farmers. It has been decided by the Cabinet in May 2021 and is coordinated by the Cyprus Agricultural Payments Organisation (CAPO) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment. The implementation of the measure required the amendment of the Rural Development Programme (2014 -2020) of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development.

Content of measure

The two eligible primary production sectors provided by the measure are : potato crops and deciduous tree crops in areas with altitude below 400 meters.

For the potato corps, eligible beneficiaries of the measure are considered:

  • professional farmers, and
  • natural or legal persons who have applied for the Single Area Payment Scheme of CAPO for the year 2020 and the application is classified as submitted for the purposes of the Single Area Payment Scheme by CAPO and has submitted a crop declaration with planting dates from 01 November 2019 to 31 March 2020, in accordance with the 2019 Law on Risk Management in Agricultural Production and Related Matters (L. 103(Ι)/2019).

For the deciduous tree crops, eligible beneficiaries are:

  • professional farmers, and
  • natural or legal persons who have applied for the Single Area Payment Scheme of CAPO for the year 2020 and the application is classified as submitted for the purposes of the Singe Area Payment Scheme by CAPO.

The subsidy is calculated per hectare of eligible land of the beneficiary and the maximum subsidy is €7,000.

The total available budget of the measure is €1.8 million. The distribution of the budget among the two sectors is:

  • €1.4 million for potato corps, and
  • €400,000 for deciduous tree crops.

Use of measure

The number of beneficiaries of the measure is currently unavailable as the deadline for the application is running.

Target groups

Workers Businesses Citizens
Does not apply to workers Solo-self-employed
Sector specific set of companies
SMEs
One person or microenterprises
Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors Funding
National government
European Funds
National funds
National Recovery and Resilience Facility

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

Trade unions Employers' organisations
Role No involvement Informed
Form Not applicable Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

  • No involvement
  • Main level of involvement: Sectoral or branch level

Involvement

The Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment and Cyprus Agriculture Payments Organisation hold meetings with the Agricultural Organisations regularly. Agricultural organisations express opinions, inform the Minister about the current state of affairs and explicate the needs of farmers or those that are affected most by the pandemic. However, the level of involvement of these organisations in the designing of the particular scheme is not known.

Views and reactions

The particular measure as well as all measures addressing the needs of farmers or particular groups of farmers with extra or specific needs are always welcomed by agricultural social partners and farmers themselves. Particular reactions on the measure have not been identified.

Sectors and occupations

    • Economic area Sector (NACE level 2)
      A - Agriculture, Forestry And Fishing A1 Crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities
    • Occupation (ISCO level 2)
      Agricultural, forestry and fishery labourers

Sources

  • 21 May 2021: Έκτακτη προσωρινή στήριξη στους γεωργούς και ΜΜΕ (www.capo.gov.cy)

Citation

Eurofound (2021), Temporary support for farmers and SMEs affected by the pandemic, measure CY-2021-21/1937 (measures in Cyprus), EU PolicyWatch, Dublin, https://static.eurofound.europa.eu/covid19db/cases/CY-2021-21_1937.html

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Disclaimer: This information has not been subject to the full Eurofound evaluation, editorial and publication process.