Cow breeders to resort to judiciary if foot-and-mouth losses go uncompensated

AMMAN — Official spokesperson of the Livestock Owners and Breeders Association Laith Al-Hajj has said that if cow breeders are not adequately compensated for the losses they incurred during the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, they will resort to the judiciary.اضافة اعلان

Hajj told Jo24 that, during a meeting with the sector yesterday, the Minister of Agriculture disavowed previous pledges made to cow breeders.

The Minister of Agriculture, he said had offered the farmers JD1.5 million in compensation only for mortality losses, and had not counted losses of milk and medicines. The data submitted by the association shows losses amounting to JD5 million, which only represent 25 percent of actual losses, he added.

“It is not reasonable that farmers be compensated with JD1,000 when their losses are in the tens of thousands.”

The minister suggested that the association meet with the Prime Minister to convince him to disburse an amount of JD5 million, and insisted that the ministry would disburse JD1.5 million for cattle deaths only, although “he had pledged during a visit to Al-Dhulail, the epicenter of the outbreak, to compensate for the losses and address international organizations to also provide assistance”.

Losses ‘in the tens of thousands’The farmers’ total losses due to the outbreak amount to about JD35 million, and the government was requested to pay only 25 percent of that. “It is not reasonable that farmers be compensated with JD1,000 when their losses are in the tens of thousands,” he sad.

Hajj indicated that the association possesses all the documents and information related to the outbreak, and plans to meet with MPs and senators to give them an idea of its communication with the ministry. If no solutions are reached, the cattle breeders will resort to the judiciary, he said.

“There are some allocations for emergencies and others for crisis management, and the minister must start disbursing the sums from those allocations — it is not us who should pay,” he said.


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