The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights Anton Refalo announced that a new legal framework for agriculture has come into force, which is also part of the ongoing reform that the government is doing in this -a sector so crucial for our country.
Through this Act, our country now has a legislative framework that gathers under it all those laws and regulations that have to do with agriculture and that until today these laws and regulations were scattered under different chapters of the laws of Malta. Thus, this Act will replace all local legislation that had to do with agriculture.
Minister Anton Refalo reiterated that thanks to this Act it will be possible for the ministry and the entities that fall under it to operate in a holistic way and be more efficient and transparent. He went on to explain that the Act better specifies the responsibilities that the Directorate of Agriculture has, among them, the development and implementation of a national agricultural policy.
“This Act is testimony to how much the Government cares about this sector and will continue to do everything possible to ensure the livelihood of our farmers and villagers,” Minister Refalo concluded. .
The Director for Agriculture Marco Dimech explained that this Act also empowers the minister responsible for agriculture to make rules, orders, lists, schedules and other changes that amend this same Act through legal notices . “This undoubtedly speeds up the legislative process because it allows changes to be made in the Act that reflects the needs of the sector,” said Mr. Dimech.
