Cereals

Every Cypriot, with a few exceptions, followed the rules of a self-sufficient economy and consumed products from his own production. The few exceptions concerned the inhabitants of cities, i.e. the officials and members of the administration or members of the bourgeoisie, who obtained their basic foodstuffs from the bazaar and the merchants. The merchants were responsible for the collection, distribution and export of goods or even had the intermediate role of covering the shortage of goods that a peasant family may have had. The vast majority of the population had to sow and harvest in order to have bread. Often, even craftsmen would not only practise their profession, but had to engage in the cultivation of crops as well.

The lack of money and the very low wages in the professions involving arts and crafts would force the population to secure their main foodstuffs through individual agricultural production, almost until after World War II. The local language was also adapted to the field of action with words that had their roots in the language of the ancient Greeks and the Byzantines. The farmer, was given a name according to the type of work he was carrying out in the field.

A person is called αγρότης (agrótis-farmer) when he is engaged in the fields in general, γεωργός (yeorgós-farmer) or ρεσπέρης (respéris) when he is engaged in agricultural production. The person that plows a field is called ζευγολάτης (zevgolátisplowman). When he sows grain or some other seed he is said to 'be putting '(e.g., "I was putting barley in the field of kakoskála”). While harvesting, not all persons are called harvesters, but depending on one’s position/duty while working, they are called:
- πρωταρκάτης (protarkátis- the leader of the workers who separates the antaj̆in for the other workers to harvest, αντάτζ̆ινantaj̆in= defined part of the sown field), 
- καγιάς (kayás- the man next to the protarkátis), 
- ροάρης or ραάρης (roáris- a man who stays behind and separates himself from the other harvesters). 
- αγκαλιαρκές (angaliarkés -the women who follow the harvesters to collect the straws/plant stalks and bundle them).

At a later stage, when the harvest is about to enter its final stage, the farmer is called αλωνεύτης (alonéftis) and/or ανεμιστής (anemistís) (Ιωνάς 2001, 41, 43).