The government should help farmers switch to local organic production by bolstering demand, by buying their products through a requirement for sourcing organic foods in local public tenders, MEP candidate Peter Agius told The Malta Independent.

This comes after Malta recorded the worst statistic out of all European Union member states for organic farming areas, with its record of 0.5% well below the 8.5% EU average, a Eurostat statistic showed.

Organic farming is a technique which involves the cultivating and nurturing of plants and animals in a natural way, without pesticides and in harmony with nature. This process includes the use of biological materials, avoiding synthetic substances to maintain soil fertility and ecological balance thereby minimizing pollution and wastage.

Agius first explained that the first issue is that demand for local products from farmers is decreasing, with Malta depending on the foreign market even more.

“The consumption of the local product in Malta is always decreasing. At this rate, in the longer term, we will be totally dependent on foreign importation; this is a serious problem. It’s a food security issue before anything else.” he said.

“The European Union invests around 38% of its budget – 348 billion – to have a reliable supply of European produce. The European Union has in fact a policy to promote local production. Ironically, in Malta, we are in a serious situation where internally we are

not promoting our local product at all vis a vis other European products coming for instance from Italy or Spain.”

Agius delved into why for farmers it is currently not viable for them to switch to organic farming as opposed to traditional ways or with harmful pesticide.

"The reason why organic is expensive comes from various factors in Malta – it's very complex. To mention but one, to produce organically, you can't have conventional pesticide. To import pesticide, one has to have a license; the license is €500 for every product that the one who is importing wants a license for.”

Therefore, he explained, it is of no use trying to obtain organic pesticide for importers if the demand is minute.

“For the importer to get the pesticide, the demand is so small, that it wouldn't be worth it for him to pay the license due to the bleak demand. It is essentially a vicious cycle which makes it very difficult for anyone considering to go organic. It is up to local government to break that vicious cycle by setting priorities right.”

Agius called for the government to waive the licensing fees for the importation of organic products, which would help the switch to organic production. “The government needs to aid with this, Europe is not going to stop you as it is a progressive leap. The licensing fees should be waivered.”

“Farmers have very limited options and frequently end up using a stronger pesticide for lack of other available options. The government needs to incentivise the local consumption. The pesticide as well as auditing fees for organic production are on the cost side, but there is also a problem that the farmers don't see sufficient demand for local and organic products,” he noted.

Agius explained that there are ways to promote local products while at the same time increasing organic production, such as seen in Denmark.

"In Denmark, for the last 11 years, in every government tender, they would have a requisite that when you would sell food to the government entities – such as hospitals and elderly people's homes – you have to have at least 25% which are organic products, which are more likely to be produced locally." Agius remarked.

“The government needs to promote the production of organic food by setting a minimum requirement of sourcing of organic food from local farmers in all procurement relating to local residential establishments including elderly homes, hospitals, and so forth. The government needs to set the example on this front.”

He also pointed out that this would also fall within the line of the European Green Deal, which target more sustainable economy, production and development, while safeguarding the environment.

“The target is that European Commission wants to have 40% of all investments in EU Funding pushing towards the European Green Deal; organic production would certainly fall under this umbrella.”