Peter Agius has a simple question: if the government is so sympathetic to the plight of local farmers, why did it vote in favour of the EU laws they are protesting against?
“Why did (Agriculture Minister) Anton Refalo vote in favour of the EU’s nature restoration law on November 22, 2023?” the PN MEP candidate asked on Monday. “If the government believes farmers’ issues are with the EU, why did the government vote in favour of free trade deals with non-EU countries?”
Europe-wide protests by farmers reached Malta last week, when local crop and livestock farmers took to their tractors and headed to Floriana, to call for fairer treatment.
Farmers are angered by what they say is the EU’s overly stringent regulation of European farms, while at the same time opening up EU markets to less regulated non-EU products.
They say new EU laws that restrict pesticide and fertilizer use are driving up their costs and lowering productivity, while new free trade deals with non-EU countries allow cheaper foreign agricultural imports to flood European markets.
Prime Minister Robert Abela met with farmers during Friday’s protest, and later said that EU laws were overly penalising small-time farm operations. It is not known if he raised that issue when he met with EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski earlier that week.
Malta has no producer organisation
Speaking on Monday, PN MEP candidate Agius also noted that Malta is the only EU member state to not have an officially recognised producer organisation.
Producer organisations, which can tap EU funding, allow farmers to coordinate their efforts to ensure price stability. They do that by ensuring farmers vary the crops they plant and are also empowered to order recalls of crops that are produced in excessive amounts, to ensure prices do not crash.
Agius used cauliflower to illustrate his point, noting that the vegetable is now selling for 50c while just one month ago “it sold for €4.”
“If Malta had a producer organisation, it would be eligible for €2 million in funding to operate,” he said. “Let’s treat this issue seriously and look for real solutions. With no farmers, we'll all be at risk."