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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