In itself, agriculture may not be a significant contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but it has always been my government’s policy to look beyond economic figures and strive to create incentives to retain land being used for agricultural purposes.

Admittedly, there is a high demand locally for land to be utilised for building either commercial units or private dwellings, and this makes it more financially viable to sell land for commercial purposes rather than retain it for agricultural purposes. Against this backdrop, the amalgamation of agriculture and environment into the same ministerial portfolio was a wise move to maintain agricultural activity in order to conserve the environment.

Currently, the agricultural area in the Maltese islands translates into 37 per cent of total land use. Geographical circumstances, including soil and climatic conditions, pose great difficulties for agricultural activity to be maintained. The insularity of Malta, and the small size of holdings, often on steep slopes, contribute further to the particular challenges faced by Maltese agriculture. The Maltese government had successfully managed to obtain a derogation in the EU Accession Treaty so that all Maltese territory would be considered as a ‘Less Favoured Area’ (LFA), which, in effect, meant availability of EU funds.

Recently, during my budget speech in Parliament, I referred to this important LFA measure which has proved to be a most effective tool to date. The visit of the EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Ms Marianne Fischer Boel this summer, was a determining factor in ensuring that Malta will maintain its LFA status and thus be eligible for ‘Common Agricultural Policy’ (CAP) funds.

This year alone, the financial aid and subsidies given to the local agriculture operators totalled around Lm10 million (local and EU funds).

Statistics issued by the National Statistics Office (NSO) and Eurostat clearly show that, after EU accession, local farmers’ income has either been maintained at pre-accession levels or has improved.

These facts demonstrate that the EU is unlikely to give its go-ahead for applying further protective measures as stipulated in Article 37 of The Treaty with its pertinent safeguard clause provisions. In general, the first tier of protection or income support appears to be serving its purpose.

During this year’s budget, the Prime Minister announced another initiative that was promised in our electoral manifesto but which due to inevitable complications has taken more time than anticipated: an insurance scheme for full-time farmers and fishermen.

This is an initiative which requires the approval of the European Commission but is likely to shadow the scheme recently introduced by Lithuania upon clearance from the Commission. A quarter of a million liri (Lm250,000) have been allocated for this purpose in the coming financial year.

As expected, the agriculture sector has undergone, and in some cases still undergoing, radical reorganisation and consolidation as well as general upgrading of facilities in line with EU requirements. In some sectors such as the poultry sector, there is further scope for consolidation.

The transition has not been easy and there have been a few victims along the way. So far and for the majority of cases, we have managed to cushion some of the negative effects of EU accession. It should be stressed, however, that radical restructuring and consolidation was in any event necessary with or without accession.

The ministry has also been very active in the fisheries sector. e2 million from EU and local funds are being invested in a new dry standing facilities project in Marsaxlokk. This will provide fishermen with the much-needed facilities to carry out maintenance work on their vessels.

And recently, a new facility for the washing of crates, as well as new plastic crates has been inaugurated. This was done on the basis of an agency agreement allowing the facility to be run by the National Fishing Cooperative.

Works on the cold stores at the pixkerija are also being carried out.

And as far as the financial assistance programme to fishermen is concerned the ministry has to date paid out Lm1.9 million, with around Lm700,000 still outstanding. These figures exclude other EU and local funds, amounting to another half a million Maltese liri, which have been used for the scrapping, upgrading or purchasing of fishing vessels.

All this, together with the energy and commitment of all the stakeholders in both these sectors, bodes well to face the difficult challenges of an ever-changing globalised world, with courage and optimism.

Surely, the protectionism mentality that the Malta Labour Party and its spokespersons are hankering after is of no relevance to today. Indeed, the sooner the opposition speakers face reality and acknowledge that those Jurassic times when state intervention was the order of the day are well and truly over, the quicker our pace of development will be, and the sweeter the taste of our success.

Mr Pullicino is Rural Affairs and Environment Minister