'Farmers are hurt' Maltese farmers' lobby president says after EU-wide protests

Għaqda Bdiewa Attivi president Malcolm Borg said that this month’s farmer protest was organised to show that, “Farmers are here and we’re hurt.”

Borg was speaking on TVM’s Xtra following Malta’s first farmer protest in decades which took place on 2 February.

During Monday’s programme, Borg explained to Saviour Balzan that the protests in Malta and across the EU were the result of regulations and interventions that have created an unfair market for European farmers. 

In fact, the farmer lobby’s president said that EU farmers have to compete with producers who are not up to EU standards, and so the inferior products can be sold at a much more competitive price. 

Borg clarified that farmers do not want government to ban imports on foreign produce, as he highlighted that all farmers want is fair competition. “We cannot compete with products coming from North Africa that use pesticides that have been banned by the EU since the 70s,” he stated. 

Another unfair advantage possessed by producers outside of the EU is low labour costs. This and other advantages, Borg explained, lead to a situation where the superior Maltese product’s price cannot compete.

With regards to the EU’s environmental legislative framework, Borg stressed that the EU should consider social impacts before signing off on such legislation, noting that behind every farmer is a family.

The farmer’s lobby president concluded by saying that he has never seen farmers so united, and that they are determined to make sure that this momentum does not die before agriculture is at the forefront of Malta’s political agenda.

During the programme, agriculture minister Anton Refalo said that farmers’ woes are due to the fact that the EU’s environmental legislative framework is being tied in with its food legislation.

Despite this, Refalo boasted government’s efforts in aiding local farmers, noting that they now receive more direct payments. The agriculture minister said that the establishment of the Malta Agricultural Resources agency is a step in the right direction and will aid Maltese farmers to be able to have the land they need to work.

The opposition spokesperson for agriculture, Toni Bezzina also commented on the programme, noting Malta’s unique characteristics that differentiate its agricultural industry from its European counterparts. 

Bezzina said that Malta’s protest occurred because government was not vocal in protecting farmers’ interests at EU level. He singled out the recent price stability agreement as an example, noting that government is essentially incentivising the sale of frozen imported vegetables.