Robert Abela made an appearance at a farmers’ protest organised on Friday, following reports that ministry officials had tried to discourage farmers from attending. 

Maltese farmers joined their European counterparts in protesting against EU policies that they say are harming them and leaving them to compete on an unlevel playing field with food producers from countries outside of the EU. 

Driving a convoy of tractors from Ta' Qali to Floriana, farmers stopped and gathered on the Granaries, where shortly after the prime minister appeared. 

He did not make a statement but had conversations with a number of the farmers in attendance. 

On Thursday, protest organisers confirmed that members were being contacted by officials from the Agriculture Ministry who tried to dissuade them from attending the demonstration. 

The Nationalist Party condemned the action and called on the government to listen to farmers’ concerns and try to help them. 

Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Why are farmers protesting? 

Addressing the farmers in attendance, Malcolm Borg from Għaqda Bdiewa Attivi said that Maltese farmers have decided to protest in solidarity with their colleagues in Europe because of the “obscene” agreements being made with countries outside of the EU. 

“We already finding it difficult to compete with larger European producers because they have much more land,” Borg said. 

“The EU is obsessed with leaving empty fields and there are plans to increase this land. The government would want to help us but will have their hands tied because of state aid rules. This is ridiculous.”

Borg also said that while the EU is planning on phasing out insecticides to control plant disease, farmers still do not know what alternatives will be available to them. 

In a statement, Għaqda Bdiewa Attivi said that food producers from third countries do not have to adhere to as stringent regulations as those imposed by the EU and therefore incur lower production costs. 

“It is no longer possible to accept products coming from such countries if these are directly competing with products being produced by local farmers,” they said. 

Photo: Karl Andrew Micallef

The farming cooperative also said that EU state aid rules often come in the way of national governments being able to help struggling farmers.

They called for these to be relaxed for governments to be able to assist in helping their agricultural sector more competitive. 

The farmers also pointed out that the EU is increasing food imports while trying to promote fallow land, which is inherently a financial burden on them. 

“To leave fallow land also means to produce less, with the unproduced amount having to come from imported sources. To promote the fallowing of land whilst increasing food imports is ridiculous, counterintuitive and a slap in the face of food producers who, with ever-increasing expenses, seek to use the land to produce food whilst those that do not use the land get the financial incentives,” they said.

They called for legislative efforts promoting fallow land to be immediately shelved and funds diverted to assist farmers directly.