At the start of the week, shoppers around Malta encountered empty or poorly stocked supermarket shelves following several days of severe weather that disrupted cargo deliveries to the island.

Photos shared online by Għaqda Bdiewa Attivi, the farmers' association, showed noticeable gaps in shelves, particularly in areas normally filled with fresh fruit and vegetables. The group said the situation demonstrates how quickly food supply chains can be affected when transport links are interrupted.

Over the weekend and into Monday, customers reported shortages at LIDL and Eurospin, where much of the fresh produce and some meat products were unavailable. By Sunday morning, some outlets were said to have run out of most fruit and vegetables, as well as beef, pork and poultry.

Both retailers rely heavily on daily imports from Sicily. No official statement had been issued, the shortages were widely believed to be the result of delays or cancellations to ferry services between Malta and Sicily due to strong winds and rough seas.

LIDL Malta shared an image of their shelves fully stocked again on Tuesday afternoon, saying that the delays had indeed been caused by the adverse weather which battered both Malta and Sicily over the weekend.

While, in the grand scheme of things, there was no harm done by this day or two of empty shelving in these supermarkets, it's important to understand the potential issue that this may end up being.

Malta and Gozo have since time immemorial had to rely on importing food in order to sustain its population.  It is an undeniable fact that Malta has never achieved self-sustainability when it comes to food supply and that, given the country's space restrictions, never will.

However, this weekend's disruption shows that it's important to take into consideration that the global supply chain may be quite fickle.  Last weekend the reason happened to be the weather, but looking back a couple of years, there were concerns as to how the Covid-19 pandemic could have affected food security owing to restrictions which were in place.

Now, the international scene is in a more precarious place than ever.  International relations are as hot as the inside of a smelting furnace, and any shock to the global market can have knock-on effects.

Malta's agricultural sector may be a small one, but having a strong domestic farming and animal husbandry sector is crucial, not just to protect the little rural identity that the country has left but also to ensure at least some food security and price affordability.

There have been developments, such as new rules which stipulate that all farmland must be registered and must be worked at least annually - but farming remains an incredibly difficult career for those who desire it.

Those working within the industry - young and old - need all the support they can get from both the authorities and the greater public.

Only with that support can we maintain what little local food security we have, and maintain the agricultural culture that our country had in days gone by.