Narcy Calamatta writes:

Saviour Gauci, known as the major mushroom grower of Malta, passed away on September 23.

He lived an exciting life of discovery. At a young age he worked on a mushroom farm in Rabat, his home town. He started reading and researching the subject and decided to branch out on his own and apply his new knowledge to scientific mushroom growing.

Saviour became so adept at his new growing method that he was invited to international conferences to share his newfound knowledge. Eventually, he was appointed as a mushroom growing consultant in Egypt and Greece.

Another discovery Saviour made in 1974 was the use of Methyl Bromide for fumigation of the soil bed in glasshouses. He and his partner were pioneers in this scientific way of eliminating complex problems of growing the same crop on the same piece of land year after year.

They started organising seminars to educate the farmers in how to accept the new method of sterilising the soil every year. Thanks to this new scientific procedure the tomatoes and strawberry industries caught on and became major crops, which Maltese farmers still produce today.

After 2004, when Malta joined the European Union, Maltese farmers chose Saviour as one of their representatives in negotiations for the adoption of EU regulations.

Saviour was not an ‘all work and no play’ person. When he was younger he became the local cinema projectionist for a number of years. He got the bug and started loving films so much that throughout his adult life he practised the hobby of making amateur movies with his friends, winning a number of trophies here and abroad. On a personal note I must say that Sonny, as his family and friends called him, was not only a gentleman farmer but also a gentleman businessman with an honesty that had no equals.

He was a brother friend to me and I could not but love him for his humility and generosity. He did everything with great passion. He loved God, his fellow people and mother nature, and was a good example to us all.

Saviour left to mourn his passing his wife Theresa, his daughters Suzanne and Olivia, his beloved grandchildren Luca and Matthew, his siblings and many other relatives and friends.

Sonny, your family and friends will always remember you.