Mitsotakis Pledges Open-Ended Aid for Lesvos Farmers as Foot-and-Mouth Cases Climb

12:45 27/4/2026 - Πηγή: iEfimerida

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has thrown the full weight of the Greek state behind Lesvos livestock farmers, pledging unlimited financial support as a rare strain of foot-and-mouth disease continues to tear through the island's agricultural heartland.

Cases

have climbed to 43 across dozens of farms, triggering the mass culling of animals and paralyzing a dairy sector that underpins the local economy.

The outbreak involves the SAT1 serotype — a strain rarely seen in European livestock — and has prompted authorities to waive standard compensation caps, a tacit acknowledgment of the damage's exceptional scale.

In his weekly address, Mr. Mitsotakis outlined a four-part package covering livestock losses, income replacement, feed cost subsidies and support for disrupted milk production, with no ceiling on the total bill.

"We are fighting a large, coordinated battle to contain and eradicate this disease from the island," he said. "I want our farmers to know that we are standing by them."

But he was equally blunt about the limits of government intervention.

Stopping the virus from jumping to the Greek mainland, he warned, depends as much on farmers following strict biosecurity protocols as on state resources.

"This is a battle we must fight together."

Greece had been free of foot-and-mouth disease for 25 years before this outbreak. EU-mandated movement restrictions have been in place since the first case was confirmed, effectively cutting Lesvos off from mainland markets and compounding the economic blow to an island already dealing with years of migration-related strain.

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Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has thrown the full weight of the Greek state behind Lesvos livestock farmers, pledging unlimited financial support as a rare strain of foot-and-mouth disease continues to tear through the island's agricultural heartland.

Cases have climbed to 43 across dozens of farms, triggering the mass culling of animals and paralyzing a dairy sector that underpins the local economy.

The outbreak involves the SAT1 serotype — a strain rarely seen in European livestock — and has prompted authorities to waive standard compensation caps, a tacit acknowledgment of the damage's exceptional scale.

In his weekly address, Mr. Mitsotakis outlined a four-part package covering livestock losses, income replacement, feed cost subsidies and support for disrupted milk production, with no ceiling on the total bill.

"We are fighting a large, coordinated battle to contain and eradicate this disease from the island," he said. "I want our farmers to know that we are standing by them."

But he was equally blunt about the limits of government intervention.

Stopping the virus from jumping to the Greek mainland, he warned, depends as much on farmers following strict biosecurity protocols as on state resources.

"This is a battle we must fight together."

Greece had been free of foot-and-mouth disease for 25 years before this outbreak. EU-mandated movement restrictions have been in place since the first case was confirmed, effectively cutting Lesvos off from mainland markets and compounding the economic blow to an island already dealing with years of migration-related strain.

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