The Maltese Government has always been and will always be a shoulder for Maltese and Gozitan farmers and villagers.
“The time has come, more than ever, where we recognize that it cannot be that our farmers and villagers continue to bear the burden and the cost of the change towards better protection of the environment and the climate with disproportionate way and without all the support we can give them.”
This was the main message of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights Anton Refalo when he attended the Council of European Ministers in Brussels, even against a background of protests from farmers and villagers around the -Member States against European Union directives.
“The European Union can no longer ignore the plight of those who earn their living from the concerned sectors. We have to be sensitive, especially after everything that has happened around the world in the last four years, and understand that the agricultural sector, like any other sector, has its own limitations in order to reach a balance between food security and the environmental and climate goals,” Minister Refalo asserted.
He continued that the ongoing protests are a sign that there is a gap between the political ambitions of the European institutions and the realities that farmers and villagers live on a daily basis, as well as the contributions that agriculture is expected to make. to make for Europe’s decarbonisation and competitiveness agenda.
Minister Refalo stressed that the Maltese Government has always been and will always remain a supporter for Maltese and Gozitan farmers and villagers and appealed to the European Union and its Member States to do the same. He claimed that even the European Commissioner for Agriculture saw this aid with his own eyes during a visit he made to Malta and it was confirmed by the Maltese farmers and villagers themselves.
The Minister Anton Refalo listed a number of solutions including finding a way to implement the Strategic Plan with more flexibility and to improve access to European funds and reduce bureaucracy and extra administrative burden linked to reporting on the obligations on farmers.
He emphasized that the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach should be avoided in the case of objectives and targets, so that the Member States have the space to adopt the most viable strategies and methods. He also emphasized the need for new laws to also consider the economic and social impact on producers and on the security of our food supply. He reiterated that in this way they ensure that farmers are safeguarded from additional and possibly unfair impacts.
“Farmers and villagers have a strategic role for food security in the European Union and for the protection of the rural environment. Therefore we should listen and consider their pains and message in order to make the necessary changes as soon as possible and have a European policy that appeals to them and give them all the support they deserve. In this way we are also motivating them to carry out the much needed reforms as well as to renew themselves from one generation to the next,” concluded Minister Refalo.
