The hailstorms on Friday and Saturday that swept through communities in the Troodos mountains brought with it extensive damage to cultivated land and orchards. President Nicos Anastasiades witnessed the full brunt of the storms and the resulting power cut whilst attending a meeting at the Troodos Development Company on Saturday. He informed the community leaders that he had instructed the Agricultural Minister, to send ministry officials to the affected areas on Monday to catalogue the damage. The aim is to compensate the farmers as soon as possible. Prodromos and Kaminares community leaders, Andreas Avgoustis and Andreas Moustakas referred to a total catastrophe, citing complete destruction of crops such as vineyards, orchards, and cultivated land  in communities including  Amiandos, Prodromos, Kaminares, Dymes, Per Pedi, Fini, Koilani, Marathasa area and Kampo. General Secretary of the Pancyprian farmers union, Pampos Constantinides, called on the government to “face up to its responsibilities and start compensation payments as soon as possible”. Constantinides also called on the Agricultural Ministry to review its decision with regards to the introduction of hail nets in the mountain regions for crop protection and to increase the subsidies included in the Programme for Agricultural Development 2014-2016. “The introduction of these nets, will not only safeguard the livelihood of farmers in the mountain regions, but it will also save the state the expense of compensation”, concluded Constantinides. Source - http://in-cyprus.com