Farmers cannot be progressive and switch towards organic farming if the government works against them, PN MEP candidate Peter Agius told The Malta Independent.

This comes after the MEP candidate noted that the government should promote organic production by buying local organic produce and waiving licensing fees for organic pesticide. In its response, the Agriculture ministry said that organic farming is still a priority for government, with schemes in place such as Payment to Convert to Organic Farming Practices and Methods and Payment to Maintain Organic Farming Practices.

“They are correct when they say they have two schemes, but when you do the maths, the money provided simply does not make sense for farmers. For farmers, it’s just not worth it as they end up paying more for being progressive,” Agius remarked.

 “In response to my criticism last week, the government confirmed that it is providing subsidies of €136 euro for every tumolo for the production of vegetables and fruit without pesticide,” he said.

“It is revealed, however, that if you leave a field uncultivated and barren, you would receive €213 per tumolo.”

Agius referred to a particular Parliamentary Question (PQ) asked by PN MP Edwin Vassallo to the Minister for Tourism and Consumer Protection Clayton Bartolo, where Bartolo noted that farmers are paying €150 for the first tumolo of fields and €65 for the other tumoli up to a maximum of €540 in order to switch over to organic farming.

Bartolo noted that this is being done in line with European legislation, and the fees are in place to cover any fees for control and testing – to ensure that organic products are genuine.

“The farmers would be doing a service for consumers, for the country, trying to produce healthier food and not using pesticide. Yet instead of making their lives easier, the government makes it harder?” he mused.

Agius said that the government is stifling citizens, leaving them without any natural habitat to enjoy and making farmers stray away from organic farming.  

“How can we enjoy nature and the environment if Malta is the worst in Europe for organic farming, if so much is done to promote building on ODZ?

He said that the risk of Malta being over reliant on importation is a reality.

“The Minister was shocked because we were going to end up hungry – of course – the risk is still there and will stay there as long as we continue to shun local products and glorify the importation without rules and without restraint.”