EU funds allow farmer to grow out-of-season crops

Farmer Patrick Muscat can now expand his business by cultivating out-of-season crops after building a new massive greenhouse worth €160,000 using EU funds.

Mr Muscat stood proud in front of long, leafy rows of almost 5,000 marrows planted in his new Mġarr structure. He and his family had applied for an EU agricultural scheme that doubled their investment of €80,000.

The scheme was just one of 18 on offer for Maltese and Gozitan farmers, of which 14 were put into practice with huge success, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said during a visit yesterday.

The schemes benefit from €100 million in EU funds for rural development allocated to Malta between 2007 and 2013.

With the money, Mr Muscat built 10 greenhouses, a reservoir and a store. At the moment, he is growing marrows, which are out of season, and will then focus on a tomato crop.

"All this is an integral part of sustainable development. We need to respect the environment and take care of our open spaces," Dr Gonzi said.

He spoke about the importance of focusing on important projects, similar to Mr Muscat's, even though it was in an outside development area. The planning authority had to process similar applications quickly and efficiently in order to help development that was important to the country, he said.

Another positive sign was the increase in the number of full- and part-time farmers, up from about 3,200 to an estimated 4,000 in four years, Dr Gonzi added.