If there is one area where Malta has literally moved on in leaps and bounds it is in our local food produce.

One only has to look back a few years and recall the locally produced rubbish that used to hit our shelves. This is from milk and bread, to pasta and vegetables. It was badly produced, awfully presented and quite frankly, was simply not up to scratch at all.

That was why people started the rush to buy foreign and this was also fuelled by our "Malta-bashing" mentality. Yet if ones looks at supermarket shelves and veg shops today, it is a very different scenario indeed. Everything is much better presented, it is fresher and it actually tastes very nice. When one compares the imported produce to our local stuff, the Maltese ones actually usually come out on top. Our vegetables in particular are very good indeed. Although they look scrawny and gnarled, they are usually much more packed with flavour than items brought in from for example, Italy or Spain.

The recent upturn in produce is probably largely due to the funding that farmers have received from the European Union in regard to upgrading their equipment. Millions of euros have been dished out to livestock rearers, dairy producers and fruit and veg farmers. This in turn filtered down to producers and the equipment upgrades and the diversification of their product ranges has really given them a new competitive edge.

This is real and measured improvement. Before, people used to not have anything to compare to, so they did not really know whether our local stuff was up to standard or not.

But now, with various foreign products on the market, the customer can pick and chose and find out what he likes. It is no coincidence that 71 per cent of Maltese people who took part in a survey said they preferred to buy local. This is simply because the Maltese product line has improved tremendously. Before, people used to advertise kunserva spread on bread. Now they are advertising wholemeal Maltese hard crust loaves, huge varieties of tomato pastes, different types of gbejniet… the list goes on and on. The Maltese people, not only the government, can take great satisfaction in the fact that 95 per cent of the population were satisfied with local produce, it means that our quality of life truly has improved. One must also point out that the Opposition used to say that Maltese farmers would not cope with the removal of levies in the farming sector. On the contrary, it has stimulated them to put a better product on the market, meaning that more people buy it, giving them more profits.

Now all that needs to be done is to ensure there is a better system in place at the vegetable market in Ta' Qali. This is yet another shackle that is holding the industry back. But now is the time to do it. Another area which needs more stimulus is organic farming. The Maltese, finally, are becoming much more health conscious and given the choice, they would buy organic produce even if it is slightly more expensive that normal. This is the way it goes and the same can be said with any other country in mind. Organic and free range is more expensive, but people will buy it if they are offered the choice. There are a few little farms in operation and others are still awaiting certification, but more stimulus is needed. And as a parting note, cabbages grown in fields around Maghtab, especially now that it is being dug up, should not really be allowed.