45 crop damage claims registered in Paphos district after hailstorm

The Department of Agriculture has registered 45 claims for damage to agricultural crops in Paphos district following severe weather. The department’s specialists have already visited the affected areas and are conducting a preliminary assessment of the losses.

As Costas Neophytou, senior agricultural insurance officer at the Paphos district office, told the Cyprus News Agency, the claims concern greenhouses, vegetable crops, vineyards and avocado plantations. Damage has been recorded in Lysos, Argaka, Pomos, Yialia, Statos-Agios Fotios and Panagia (Lysos, Argaka, Pomos, Yialia, Statos-Agios Fotios, Panagia).

According to Neophytou, hail falls in Cyprus in summer approximately once every two or three years, but this season has been an exception. “This year, the damage was extensive,” he said.

The procedure is as follows: the producer reports the damage to the district office of the Department of Agriculture, after which staff visit the site and determine whether the damage falls within the compensation criteria. If the criteria are met, the department publishes an announcement, and those affected submit official declarations of losses. A final assessment is then carried out, reports are prepared, and the case proceeds to the payment of compensation.

Neophytou urged all affected producers to contact the district offices of the Department of Agriculture and follow the established assessment procedure.