eunite:Halloumi/Hellim PDO
As part of the European Union (EU) funded eunite Programme, eunite:Halloumi/Hellim PDO is a dedicated €12,3 million project focused on;
- Contributing to increased island-wide economic convergence and implementation of EU standards in the Turkish Cypriot community (TCc) through improved public and animal health in the TCc; and,
- Enabling Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) compliant Halloumi/Hellim crossing the Green Line.
The European Union is dedicated to empowering the Turkish Cypriot community in seizing the full potential of economic development and market opportunities offered by the PDO Halloumi/Hellim in the EU market.
eunite:Halloumi/Hellim PDO project focuses on enhancing public health and further improving animal health in TCc by;
- supporting the implementation the EU Halloumi/Hellim PDO scheme and related EU food safety standards in the dairy sector by improving the monitoring of feed quality and animal husbandry conditions at sheep and goat farms,
- strengthening the access to veterinary medicinal products registered by the European Medicines Agency for use in beekeeping,
- further reducing the prevalence of zoonotic diseases in cattle and small ruminants,
- further improving the capacity of the Turkish Cypriot community ‘veterinary department’ to implement intradermal tuberculin test(s) according to EU requirements; as well as,
- improving confidence in the reliability of data on the status of bovine tuberculosis, enzootic bovine leucosis (EBL) and exotic diseases ((Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), Sheep and goat pox (SGP), Peste des petits ruminants (PPR), Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD)).
The eunite:Halloumi/Hellim PDO work in a nutshell:
What we do:
The eunite:Halloumi/Hellim PDO project aims to enhance the effectiveness and compliance of the dairy and veterinary sectors with EU standards, improve production and monitoring capabilities, and bolster animal disease control measures to ensure higher quality, safety, and reliability in food and therefore public and animal health.
eunite:Halloumi/Hellim PDO delivers a comprehensive range of actions to achieve these:
Financial Support
To provide financial support to dairy farmers and producers for enhancing the implementation of EU food safety standards in the food production chain and boost production capacity, especially with regard to the EU Halloumi/Hellim PDO scheme.
Procurement of shelters for goats and sheeps
To supply farms with purpose-built, modular animal shelters made of durable materials that protect against extreme weather conditions. This aims to -reduce mortality rates and increase milk yields, thereby supporting Halloumi/Hellim PDO production.
Provision of Veterinary Medicinal Products
Enabling access to veterinary medicinal products registered by the European Medicines Agency for use in beekeeping, ensuring better health management of bee populations.
Sampling and testing for animal diseases:
To strengthen animal disease surveillance through systematic testing, including:
Supplies of tests and consumables for animal health surveillance
To enhance the diagnostic capabilities of the TCc 'veterinary department' by providing intradermal tuberculin tests, laboratory consumables, and molecular diagnostic materials. This aims to improve efficiency and accuracy in disease detection and management.
Improvement of data reliability confidence in the reliability of data
To build confidence in animal health data by systematically monitoring bovine tuberculosis, enzootic bovine leucosis (EBL), and exotic diseases. This will support informed decision-making and effective disease control strategies.
Our Services:
Grant Schemes
The aim is to support the implementation of the EU Halloumi/Hellim PDO scheme by providing grant support to dairy farmers and producers to help them reach EU food safety standards. Two grant schemes with a total value of € 3.1million were launched as Call For Proposals 1 (CFP1) and Call for Proposals 2 (CFP2).
CFP 1: Support implementation of the EU Halloumi/Hellim PDO scheme.
Under CFP1, this first grant scheme 10 Farms and 3 dairy producers are awarded with grant and their contracts were signed in April 2024. The beneficiaries are procuring machinery and equipment to improve their compliance with EU food safety standards thus their production capacity.
CFP 2: Support to upgrade production towards meeting EU food safety standards.
Under CFP 2, 11 farms and 5 dairy producers are awarded with grant and their contracts were signed in October 2024. The grants are intended to support upgrading production capacity towards meeting EU food safety and hygiene standards.
Animal Health Tests & Supplies
Providing tests and consumables for animal health surveillance and disease eradication efforts. The aim is to complete testing blood samples from a minimum 325,000 sheep and goat for brucellosis and blood samples from minimum 500 sheep and goats tested for FMD, SGP and PPR; and, reporting summary results in EU aligned reporting tables to increase confidence in the reliability of data on the status of bovine tuberculosis, enzootic bovine leucosis and exotic diseases. Through eunite Programme, the EU also delivered laboratory consumables and molecular diagnostic consumables to the 'veterinary department'.
Animal disease testing
Conducting sampling and testing of cattle, goats and sheeps to detect brucellosis, tuberculosis, and other animal diseases. The aim is to improve capacity of Turkish Cypriot community 'veterinary department' to implement intradermal tuberculin tests according to EU standards through testing minimum 62,000 cattle for tuberculosis and reporting summary results in EU aligned reporting tables. 13 authorized veterinarians and 8 lab technicians were contracted. 38,500 cattle (above 6 weeks of age) were tested for tuberculosis and 27,500 cattle (above 12 months of age) and 153,000 small ruminants were tested for Brucellosis.
Animal Shelter Supply Scheme
The aim is to supply farms with purpose-built, modular animal shelters made of durable materials that protect against extreme weather conditions. This initiative seeks to reduce infant mortality rates and improve conditions for animal husbandry on goat and sheep farms, ultimately increasing milk yields and supporting Halloumi/Hellim PDO production.
In January 2024, two pilot shelters were installed and tested, yielding positive results that are now being shared with other farmers. Through a new animal shelter supply scheme, between 25 and 35 additional shelters are planned for installation on various farms. Applications for interested farmers were launched in November 2024, with submissions accepted in December 2024.
Better Access to Veterinary Products for Beekeepers
The aim is providing strengthened access to Turkish Cypriot community ‘veterinary department'
with VMPs (veterinary medical products) registered by EMA for use in beekeeping and control
Varroa mite infestations enabling increased honey production as well as expansion of honeybee
populations.
A spring treatment of 24,000 colonies was completed during February- April 2024 with organic
substance. In June 2024 experts from France carried on testing to identify the medicine for next
treatment. The delivery of organic substance is completed during August 2024 for Autumn
treatment.
Our background:
eunite:Halloumi/Hellim PDO represents an important step in the European Union’s ongoing commitment to support Turkish Cypriot producers meet EU food safety and animal health standards, that are essential requirements to enable integration of Turkish Cypriot business into the island-wide economy and the European single market.
In addition to its ongoing support for compliance with these standards, the eunite Programme aims to further strengthen this assistance, increase the quantity and quality of PDO compliant small ruminant milk, and complement the efforts of the parallel technical assistance projects implemented under the Aid programme.
By levering in the past achievements success that can be reviewed accessed here, eunite:Halloumi/Hellim PDO project, under the eunite Programme will aim to contribute to confidence building and promote economic convergence across Cyprus boosting trade across the Green Line. It will help ensuring compliance with EU standards.