Farmers should be given the opportunity to buy their leased agricultural land through interest-free loans, the Nationalist Party has said.

PN MP Ewin Vassallo said that if the party were in government, it would set up a national fund offering bank guarantees to farmers who till agricultural land. 

Many farmers say they risk being evacuated from fields that they lease, following a constitutional court judgement that ruled in favour of landowners. 

While the government has promised to revise agricultural land lease laws to ensure farmers are not forced off their land, that legal reform has yet to materialise. 

In a statement, the PN said that it wanted to see this revised law passed without delay. 

It said that its proposal to offer farmers interest-free loans would ensure that they could keep their land without discriminating against the property rights of landowners. 

The PN is also proposing an aid scheme that would cover up to 70 per cent of ground rent costs for farmers, provided they can prove that they used the land to grow locally-sold fruits and vegetables. 

Vassallo said that the party’s proposals would be entirely voluntary and would not impinge on any private agreements that farmers and landowners might reach. 

He also suggested creating an administrative board empowered to quickly conclude disputes over ground rent on agricultural land.