Livestock Farmers in Northern Cyprus Protest with Coffin at Agriculture Ministry: “We Are Dying as Producers”

An unusual protest took place in Nicosia outside the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources: livestock farmers of Northern Cyprus brought a symbolic coffin marked “producer” and read a funeral prayer. With this gesture, farmers highlighted the critical state of the sector and the government's inaction.

The protest was organized by the Livestock Farmers Association. According to its president, Adil Onalt, despite a change in ministry leadership, no positive changes have occurred in the past five months. “We haven't made any progress. We are on the brink of bankruptcy,” he said.

Farmers claim that the government ignores their proposals and that discussions with the ministry yield no results. Instead of reforms and support for the sector, the authorities continue a policy of opacity and conflict, they say.

Among the protesters’ key demands are fair purchase prices for milk and meat, stronger production controls, action against the illegal export of products to the southern part of the island, and a halt to the import of cheap, low-quality meat.

Onalt emphasized that livestock farmers are open to inspections and dialogue but demand to be heard. If the situation doesn’t change, the protestors warn, livestock farming in Northern Cyprus may vanish completely.