This week, Prime Minister Robert Abela declared that agriculture should be a pillar of our economy. He said that his government wants to help farmers to ensure they produce enough food to sustain the nation. Abela reminded us how some months back, Malta was risking big when imports were blocked in Genoa, risking a food crises in Malta. 

Yes indeed. The way we handled food production in Malta of late means we risk going hungry. Plain and simple. Malta is risking big on food security. Abela’s comments are welcome, but in my short time in politics I made it a point to compare words with actions. How about some of that with regard to food production in Malta? 

Let’s start with the most filling dish shall we? How about a serving of pork chops? Yes. Here goes Spanish, Italian, German pork. Lean or fatty? Let’s say lean. But it will never be as lean as the Maltese farmer’s profits these days. To compete with the imports they have to add €90 per tonne in extra expenses for the importation overheads. Yes. €90 extra. You know, those pigs have a huge appetite, so that translates into €2 difference in the minimum resale price. What does the government do? Helpless in front of a freight system which is technically controlled and partly owned by it. 

Moreover, a €3 million aid scheme announced 3 years ago remained blocked on the finance minister’s desk. They held a press conference to announce it  and TVM coverage, but no euro of those €3 million has ever been deployed. People in the know close to an ex Agriculture Minister said the minister was openly saying that Maltese pork production was destined for bankruptcy anyway. See, Abela, is this how your government treats our food producers? 

Now, let’s say you’re avoiding red meats and want something leaner. How about chicken and eggs? Well, you stand a lean chance of eating a healthy Maltese chicken. The Maltese producer has to compete with Sicilian imports produced with subsidies on energy consumption. Apart for the food, producing a juicy chicken in 8 weeks requires a lot of heating during the winter months. But while Maltese growers have to pay the market price for fuel, their competitors across the sea have up to 50% subsidies on fuel consumption.

Maltese farmers have noted that all agricultural vehicles imported from abroad have red fuel in their tanks. It is red to mark its difference from the other fuel designated for consumers, which is double the price - that is the price for the Maltese farmer. So while the Maltese want to compete, they are starting with one hand tied to the back. No wonder that when visiting any supermarket, you will find that three out of four of eggs and slices of meat are imported. The Maltese producers that manage to stay afloat do so mainly because they value their passion over the maths. 

So, no chicken today either.

Let’s have a mushroom salad shall we? Ok. There are at least 5 big mushroom farms in Malta, producing the firmest Portobello, French and regular mushrooms. They manage to ooze out a profit notwithstanding the fact that their importation costs have just risen by €400 for every cargo load in order to import the basic growing medium, due to Government’s incompetence in defending Maltese interest in the new EU trucking Directive. Moreover, producers all over Europe have learned to produce their own growing medium through EU financed research. Not in Malta, not in sight. But no worries, we’ll make sure to spend €30 million on concrete pathways in our countryside. 

Instead of helping our food producers compete, we treat the local food producers worse than your most avid building contractor. 

Getting a water and electricity metre for a fully detached villa comes at the same price and monthly rent as for a metre for a tumolo of arable land to farm. 

Receiving a planning permit for a 7 storey development takes less time and comes at the same fee as getting an agricultural store approved. The latter is seeing to food reach out plate. Do you see where this is going?  

I have made it a point to be a voice for Maltese products the last 3 years. It all started when I put my name forward as an MEP candidate. I was not aware at the time that fishing, farming and the Maltese product in general were taking the short end of the stick from Malta’s EU accession. It became clearer visit after visit to farms, workshops, boats and greenhouses. 

What is tragic, is that none of this is due to Malta’ EU accession, but is due to our handling thereof. Dutch farmers are also in the EU. They produce enough food to fill the cold-stores of Europe. In the Netherlands, as in many other EU countries, they used EU funding to turn farming from a thing of hoe and scythe to a matter for advanced technological management with drones monitoring fields and cows milked by robots. 

I feel like shouting out for help to save a drowning man. When I hear Abela saying that he wants to save Maltese farming I say ‘well, at least it is somewhere there in his speaking notes’. But then you look at the last eight years and see that these sectors have made significant steps, backwards. At this rate we risk going hungry. Let’s cut the hypocrisy shall we? 

[email protected]