Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture Clint Camilleri needs to explain why MEP Alfred Sant has been granted access to visit Pitkali (vegetable and fruit) Market Centre in Ta’ Qali "whereas I was denied permission even though several e-mail requests have been sent", PN MEP Francis Zammit Dimech said today.

“It is unbelievable that now the government has taken favouritism to such a level,” he said. Zammit Dimech had made a request to visit Pitkali Market Centre in Ta’ Qali as part of a consultation process he had launched in March 2018.

In July 2018 Zammit Dimech said had requested the Pitkali Market Centre to make a visit to meet farmers but he was never granted permission. Currently there are no Maltese MEPs serving on the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) and Zammit Dimech had teamed up with other MEPs and the rapporteur in the AGRI committee to present proposals of Maltese farmers in a report on the future of food and farming.

In his proposals Zammit Dimech had proposed that special consideration should be granted to farmers who face extra challenges due to specific constraints linked to less favoured areas such as islands and outermost regions to maintain farming activity in such areas.

Farmers had also expressed disappointment with respect to delay for payments. In this regard, Zammit Dimech had proposed that the new common agriculture policy must make financing more expedited, fairer and more efficient. Due to the fact that young and first generation farmers were facing difficulties to have access to terrain, Zammit Dimech proposed support initiatives to help young farmers have access to terrain including succession planning.

 Zammit Dimech, a former Minister for the Environment had also spoken on the need to protect arable land from development. In his proposals he had raised the need for farmers to obtain a fair and equitable compensation for their produce and for a level playing field for all farmers including small family farmers. Zammit Dimech had emphasised that strengthening the position of farmers in the food supply chain was crucial to ensure affordable prices for citizens and consumers and to promote a healthy diet.

Zammit Dimech said that the government’s bias was of detriment to the farmers as this report came at an important time ahead of new EU Agricultural Policy which will determine EU funding for agriculture post 2020. In fact, there are currently ongoing negotiations in the AGRI Committee that involve such aspects.

Zammit Dimech said that he will continue to be the voice of farmers irrespective of government’s partisan policies.  He said that he remains committed to ensure that current agricultural budget is increased or maintained to ensure that the objectives made will be reached. The current proposal presented by the Commission proposes a reduction of around 5%.

Ongoing discussions on reforms being proposed by the European Commission focus on generational renewal in the farming population and call for boosting support for new farmers, regardless of age, as well as promoting women’s participation in the economy of rural areas. They also call for stronger farmer organisations and better organised farmers to benefit more from EU funding. The reforms also touch with financial precautions such as insurances for farmers. In the light of the threat of budget cuts as a result of Brexit, calls are being made for keeping the CAP’s budgetary allocation at least at the same level as in the current programming period. In terms of redistribution of subsidies discussions are ongoing for small and medium-sized farms to be better supported.