The initiative is being held under the central slogan ‘We are not waiting for saviours, we are becoming protagonists’, emphasising the need for organisation and collective advocacy, with the support of the local community. Rizos Maroudas, a member of the Panhellenic Committee of the Farmers’ Roadblocks, is also expected to speak at the meeting.
The farmers are making specific demands of the state, foremost among them full compensation at 100% of the real value of animals killed because of zoonotic diseases. They are also demanding the immediate replacement of lost income for the period during which they remain without production, as well as compensation for losses in milk, slaughter and operating costs.
Among other things, they are demanding:
a state-funded plan to rebuild herds;
the opening of slaughterhouses and the safe movement of products from the island;
the vaccination of animals, in line with the recommendations of scientific bodies;
the strengthening of biosecurity measures, with full state coverage and adequate staffing of services.
The mobilisation forms part of a broader wave of reactions by farmers on Lesvos, who have recently expressed strong dissatisfaction with compensation and with the handling of the crisis in the primary sector.
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