A generous farmer has been helping families who are struggling during the coronavirus by donating food from his dairy farm.

Mark Micallef, 44, owns land in St Paul’s Bay, which hosts 26 sheep as well as lambs.

Two weeks ago, he had an idea and decided to act on it.

“I was out in the fields, thinking about the coronavirus and how some people must be going hungry if they lost their jobs. So, I decided to put a small advertisement on my Facebook page to see if I could help,” he said.

Around 50 people contacted him asking for food. Others offered to go to work at his farm for free or give him cash donations. He found the time to deliver food to eight people, as well as keeping his business going by having customers only going to his gate and pick up their food because of social distancing.  

“I have to protect myself as this is my livelihood and I can’t afford to get sick,” Micallef said.

He also notes that, unfortunately, some have been taking advantage of his generosity.

“I feel like some people do have the money to spend on food but see this as a way they can save some of their own money for the future,” he noted.

“It’s a bit disappointing.”

The farmer – who inherited the land from his father – says it’s been a tough few months for agriculture across the islands. With hardly any rain between November and February, crops struggled to grow and the land was extremely dry. While some rain in March was welcome, Micallef says things are still tough.

“Of course, it helped a bit, but it was also a case of ‘too little, too late’.”

So far, his own business has managed to weather the storm that the novel coronavirus has inflicted on so many livelihoods across Malta and the world.

But he also hopes that people will use the time in isolation to re-evaluate the role of farmers in society.

“There is a shortage of some produce right now, so this is helping farmers like me,” he said.

“I’m hoping the crisis will remind people of the quality of local produce and encourage them to buy from farmers rather than big supermarket chains which import from abroad. I also hope that authorities remember this when everything goes back to normal and start to take care of us more, so that we can supply the people with enough food to feed themselves again.”

Anyone who would like to contact Micallef can do so by phoning 7747 7427.