Brussels uninterested in Maltese agriculture, says Labour MEP

Labour MEP Alfred Sant has said statistics provided by Eurostat has shown Maltese agriculture has been displaying negative signs in the last years and that notwithstanding some exceptions, Malta has “a constant negative outturn in the agricultural sector”.

The former prime minister was reacting to a reply from Phil Hogan, EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, who said there was no need for new proposals that would provide specific conditions for  the Maltese agricultural sector.

“The EC is not interested in the problems Maltese and Gozitan farmers and animal breeders are facing. The Commission does not seem preoccupied with the downward trend in the agricultural sector due to the small size of the Malta islands. We must keep insisting on the value of agriculture in Malta and Gozo,” Sant said.

Sant added that it should be Malta to take specific initiatives that ensure the sustainable operations of Maltese farmers and animal breeders in Malta and Gozo.  

Sant asked the EC whether it agreed with the view that agriculture in Malta, which to date operates under the most stringent conditions existing in the EU, had to be safeguarded and whether it agrees that the Common Agricultural Policy was counterproductive for Malta.

Hogan denied the CAP had affected agriculture in Malta negatively, and that the rural development policy allowed flexibility for member states to design tailor-made programmes.

The Maltese Rural Development Programme for the programming period 2014-2020 is still under consideration. The new system of direct payments to farmers provides member states with a large degree of flexibility to address their specificities. Malta benefited from €99 million in funds for rural development between for the 2014-2020 period.