With its insistence on not improving the proposed amendments to the Agricultural leases (Reletting) Act, the Government is ensuring that this sector receives a mortal blow, the Nationalist Party said in a statement on Saturday.

Earlier last month the government issued a White Paper regarding agricultural land in Malta, where it put forward new legal amendments to Parliament that will affect the value of such land.

As part of its work on this subject, the Nationalist Party submitted a number of amendments to act through the parliamentary committee responsible for the consideration of laws. These amendments emerged after several meetings with farmers who will be affected by the government's proposed amendments.

However, the PN said that during the last session of the Parliamentary Committee which discusses amendments to laws that have been proposed, the Government did not accept these changes and so the law as presented remained with the same defects and problems.

In its statement, the PN said that it “understood the need to safeguard the rights of the owner, while protecting the farmers from drastic increases in costs.”

It drew up amendments to reflect its wants for the agricultural sector, which include:

• a financial aid scheme for those who have their agricultural land rent increased;

• redefining agricultural land by including animal farms, agricultural structures and other related equipment.

• a fairer update to the mechanism that defines how agricultural land is evaluated by including the potential income from the agricultural use of the crop by the tenant;

• protection for those who have agricultural land included on the farm that is also used for agricultural purposes other than residential.

"This is another example of how the Government's arrogance blinds it from doing what is necessary for the common good, with the consequence that in this case, it is jeopardising the future of a fundamental area : agriculture.”

The statement was signed by PN Spokesman for Agriculture and Fisheries Toni Bezzina, PN Spokesperson for Lands and Consumer Rights Rebekah Borg and PN Whip Robert Cutajar.