Farmers propose consortium

Farmers' associations are proposing to set up a consortium involving producers' organisations, traders (pitkala) and the government, in a bid to have a better say in the setting of prices and to secure their share of the market.

If the proposal is successful, it could lead to a proper reform of the vegetable market in Ta' Qali, farmers' associations said yesterday.

While calling on the government to be the market regulator, the organisations are proposing that a grading system is introduced, which will then make it possible for farmers to set a minimum price that would ensure that producers are paid their due, in a way that the big discrepancies between the low prices charged by farmers and the high prices with which the same items are sold on the market ends once and for all.

Farmers' representatives said traders were pushing to have a greater share in the consortium but the Farmers Association's general secretary, Peter Axisa, insisted that this would not be conceded.

"The issue of competition can be addressed if we are united and if farmers have a say in the setting up of prices," he insisted.

At a rather heated meeting at St Agatha's College, in Rabat organised by farmers' associations, farmers put forward their concerns and discussed what action they should take to ensure the promises made prior to the EU referendum are honoured by the government.

While some farmers complained they were losing money because of the produce imported from abroad, others called for cooperation and unity to address the situation.

The proposed reforms come at a time when Maltese farmers are saying that the market is being flooded by cheap imported produce that is, in turn, threatening their livelihood. Over the past three weeks, farmers have been calling on the government to immediately implement the safeguard clause negotiated in the EU accession treaty, since agricultural produce from Europe has forced them to drastically cut their prices.

Speaking last week, Agriculture Minister George Pullicino said it was too soon to invoke the safeguard clause and one had to allow the market to settle.

At the meeting, most farmers said they were being let down by the government, but Philip von Brockdorrf, permanent secretary in the Agriculture Ministry, assured those present the government was on the farmers' side and that the ministry has already started working to make the case before the European Commission.