Farmers facing rising rents for their leased agricultural land should be granted financial aid by the government to ensure the sector does not die out, the Nationalist Party said on Tuesday. 

The party is also calling for the government to take farmers' income from that land into consideration when establishing what a ‘fair’ rent amount would be. 

Addressing a news conference on Tuesday, the party’s spokesperson for agriculture and fisheries, Toni Bezzina, said the party will be submitting five amendments to an agricultural leases bill.

The bill, announced by the government last month, seeks to reform agricultural land laws, to ensure landowners earn fairer annual rent and halt the eviction of farmers from agricultural land. 

Existing rural lease laws allow farmers tilling leased land to pay fixed - and in many cases very low - rents that remain unaltered over time. 

The issue rankles with landowners, who say they are unable to obtain a fair income from their property. 

Problems emerged into the open in 2020, after a court declared that the existing rural leases law is unconstitutional. Private landowners then began to challenge the so-called qbiela law, landing dozens of farmers in court and facing eviction. 

Farmers have reacted positively to the reform effort but have expressed concern about how the government will quantify what a “fair” rent is.

What the PN wants to change in lease laws 

Bezzina said the PN had organised several consultation meetings with Maltese and Gozitan farmers to understand their concerns and the way forward to safeguard the local agricultural sector.

He said one of the amendments calls for a clearer definition of “agricultural land” to include not just land used to grow crops, but also the setting up of glasshouses, other agricultural structures and also livestock farming. 

Another amendment concerns the way agricultural land is valued. 

“Agricultural land should be valued by the value of the agricultural produce, the potential income from the agricultural use of the land, and also the expenses the farmer faces when trying to keep the land in good condition,” he said. 

Bezzina said that if agricultural land included a farmhouse which the farmer uses as his residence, the board should determine a fair rent that takes into account how much of the farmhouse is being used for agricultural purposes and how much of it is being used for residential purposes. 

“There are some farmers who store agricultural tools and equipment in the farmhouse, so it is only fair to take this into account," he said.

Speaking during the press conference, the party's spokesperson for lands, Rebekah Borg said farmers are "environment ambassadors" and their work needs to be protected. 

"Could you imagine a country without an agriculture sector? Farmers are facing a situation where their rent prices could increase, and we are here to ensure they are protected so that they can continue providing fresh produce to the country," she said. 

She said it would be a "huge tragedy" if the sector were to die out. 

Environment spokesperson Robert Cutajar said the amendments will be discussed during Parliament's Bills Committee on Wednesday.