LAONA FOUNDATION FOR THE CONSERVATION AND REGENERATIONOF THE CYPRIOT COUNTRYSIDE

The situation of farmers and landowners in Cyprus

Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean, with an area of 9251 km rising to an altitude of 1952m a.s.l at its highest peak. The population is estimated at 0.7 million. From 1571AD when Cyprus became part of the Ottoman Empire, it was cut off from Europe, so feudal systems of landholding which developed throughout the European countryside based on the (often absent) seigneur-landlord with his vast estates and tenant farmers were not part of the island’s way of life. Thus, there is no tradition of a land-owning social elite (the island’s elite is mostly represented by ‘les grands bourgois’). In fact the tradition that developed during the Ottoman rule, whereby individuals could bequeath land to the Church, resulted in the Arbishopric and the Monasteries of Cyprus becoming and remaining the biggest landowners.

Equally the forests, which cover 19% of Cyprus are mostly state owned. So extensive private landowning is mainly found in the low lands were vegetables, citrus and other fruits are grown for export. Outside farming, large tracts of land are held by development companies. Farmers are organized into left or right wing associations. Landowners are also organized under the Chamber of Commerce, but they are generally owners of urban property.

Whereas farming was the main occupation of Cypriots at the beginning of the 20th century, with most of the population living in rural areas, a shift occurred by the 50’s, caused first by urbanization and later by tourism, so that by the end of the century only 30% of Cypriots lived in the countryside and agriculture contributed not more than 4% to the GDP, employing (in 2003) around 23000 persons, viz. 7% of the economically active population. Tourism on the other hand contributes 15% to the GDP and directly employs some 43000 people.

The hard life and insecurity of rain-fed agriculture led most farmers to encourage their children towards higher education and urban jobs and by the early 70’s this turned into a mass exodus from the countryside when government policy encouraged young people to join hotel schools and seek jobs as waiters, cooks and housekeepers in the booming tourists industry. Despite the short-term economic downturn that followed the Turkish invasion in 1974, the government-controlled part of the island recovered swiftly, tourism was encouraged all over the coast, while the island’s one and only agricultural college, left in the occupied town of Morphou never re-opened. If one adds to these developments the fact that the inheritance law leads to a constant reduction of the land parcels passed on to each succeeding generation, one can understand:

  • The low interest shown by young people to take up farming;
  • The fact that full-time farmers in the uplands are mostly over 50, if not 60, years of age;
  • That farming is becoming a part-time activity.
  • That agriculture in the low lands (where there are large tracts of citrus, vegetables and table grapes) is dependent on foreign labour;

This is the general situation in Cyprus as it enters the EU, at a time when the EU’s agricultural policy is itself in a state of upheaval due to the move from food production to multi-functionality. The Cypriot farmer, used to protectionism, price regulation and subsidies was unprepared for the competing products that suddenly entered the market, and even less prepared to work within the EU system of quotas, complicated application forms, etc. The summer of 2004 has proved very discouraging, especially for the vine-growers who saw so much of their hard gained produce end up in landfills or selling at rock bottom prices to the wineries. And although earlier in the year there was a general fear that there would be insufficient take-up of CAP subsidies, it now appears that the take up has been very high, but most of the applications have come from the ‘savvy’ civil servants who are part-time farmers, and from the bigger estates in the lowlands, while the hard pressed small farmers had neither the knowledge nor the ability to take advantage.

In this climate of uncertainty many small farmers are thinking of either building on their land or selling out to developers. And, as building zones around villages expand under local pressure, there is a very real danger that vineyards and orchards will be transformed into holiday houses and agrotourist villas.

The Natura 2000 network appeared to offer some hope of saving natural/cultural landscapes while offering incentives to farmers and landowners. However, there was such a strong reaction to the scheme _ because the official presentation left owners with the impression that no activities other than farming would be allowed in Natura sites – that these sites have now been reduced to about 4% of the land cover – and most of that land is not in private hands.

Although this might seem like a small victory for the landowner who may now develop his/her land more freely, the long-term effects are bound to be negative in terms of biodiversity, landscape and rural attractiveness. In a country where the economy depends on tourism and where the increasing development of mass tourism infrastructure has led to uglification of the coast, the prospects of a similar situation developing in and around traditional villages is now a very real threat.

The Laona Foundation for the Conservation and Regeneration of the Cypriot Countryside, a non-profit-making organization, has worked since 1992 to introduce to small rural communities the concept of sustainable development through sensitive conservation work, agrotourism, protection of the landscape and development of added value for local products. The Laona Project in the Akamas Pensinsula and the River Valleys Project in Eastern Paphos have been conducted and completed over the last decade as NGO initiatives within the LIFE Programme of DG Environment. Both have been acknowledged as notable models of sustainable development generating NGO and academic interest in Cyprus and abroad, in areas facing similar rural problems ranging from Greece to Nepal.