The Council of Ministers approved an annual budget of €950,000 for enclaved farmers support schemes on Tuesday, following a proposal tabled by Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Minister Costas Kadis.

The support schemes will be accessible to farmers who are already in the Turkish-occupied areas as well as people who have recently moved there and enclaved fishermen and agricultural craftsmen who due to special conditions are facing difficulties in the performance of their activities, an Agriculture Ministry press release says.

The first annual financial help scheme to enclaved farmers was implemented in 1996 while in 2017 a second scheme included new categories of enclaved farmers with the annual budget reaching 950 thousand euros, it adds.
 
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third.
 
Turkey occupied 36,2 percent of the sovereign territory of the Republic and forcibly expelled about 180,000 Greek Cypriots from their homes. Another 20,000 Greek Cypriots, who had remained in the occupied areas, were also forced to eventually abandon their homes and seek refuge in the safety of the government-controlled areas. Today, few enclaved Greek Cypriots remain in the occupied areas.