{"id":60080,"date":"2026-09-25T13:22:21","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T12:22:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/?p=60080"},"modified":"2026-09-25T13:22:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T12:22:22","slug":"farmer-categorization-system-introduced-to-reward-genuine-farmers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/25\/farmer-categorization-system-introduced-to-reward-genuine-farmers\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00a0Farmer categorization system introduced to reward genuine farmers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In recent days, several comments and publications have been made regarding the Categorization of Farmers which have given an incomplete, and sometimes incorrect, picture of the process implemented by the Government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Ministry would like to clarify that the categorisation was not introduced to create obstacles, but to identify in a fair and transparent manner who is carrying out genuine agricultural activity. The priority of the system is that public support reaches those who are truly working in the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Contrary to what is being alleged, the process was not imposed without consultation. Between 2023 and 2026, several meetings were held with the Agricultural Advisory Council and with representative organizations of the sector, while the proposals were discussed before they came into force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nor is it true that the Government did not listen to the concerns of farmers. Through Legal Notice 205 of 2026, amendments were introduced that simplified the process, while maintaining the principles of fairness and transparency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Standard Output mechanism is an indicator used at European level to measure the level of agricultural activity. At the same time, recent amendments have introduced two important principles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(i)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; more flexibility, including the possibility of considering fiscal documents so that the categorization better reflects sales and income from commercial agricultural production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(ii)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The deadline for requests for review of categorisation has been lifted to give each farmer an additional opportunity to have their case assessed. Guidelines will also be published to ensure uniform application of the rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Government will continue to keep the doors open for dialogue and collaboration with farmers and sector representative organisations, including individual assistance to farmers. In fact, the Ministry is also providing free advisory and guidance services through AgriConnect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Government&#8217;s priority has been, is and will remain concrete work in favour of farmers whose livelihoods depend on farming. Measures that provide more opportunities and security to the Maltese agricultural community also translate into a direct investment in the quality of the food we eat and the food security of our country.<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div><p id=\"pvc_stats_60080\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"60080\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 -34 330 -124 456 -258 112 -119 167 -219 211 -378 27 -96 24 -300 -5 -401 -72 -255 -236 -447 -474 -557 -132 -62 -201 -76 -368 -76 -167 0 -236 14 -368 76 -213 98 -373 271 -451 485 -162 444 86 934 547 1084 153 49 292 57 452 25z m909 -232 c222 -123 408 -262 593 -441 76 -74 138 -139 138 -144 0 -16 -233 -242 -330 -319 -155 -123 -309 -223 -461 -299 l-81 -41 32 46 c18 26 49 83 70 128 143 306 141 649 -6 957 -25 52 -61 116 -79 142 l-34 47 45 -20 c26 -10 76 -36 113 -56z m-2057 25 c-40 -58 -105 -190 -130 -263 -110 -324 -59 -707 132 -981 25 -35 42 -64 37 -64 -19 0 -241 119 -326 174 -188 122 -406 314 -532 468 l-58 71 108 103 c185 178 428 349 672 473 66 33 121 60 123 61 2 0 -10 -19 -26 -42z\"\/><path d=\"M2375 1950 c-198 -44 -350 -190 -395 -379 -18 -76 -8 -221 19 -290 114 -284 457 -406 731 -260 98 52 188 154 231 260 27 69 37 214 19 290 -38 163 -166 304 -326 360 -67 23 -215 33 -279 19z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p><div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In recent days, several comments and publications have been made regarding the Categorization of Farmers which have given an incomplete, and sometimes incorrect, picture of the process implemented by the Government. The Ministry would like to clarify that the categorisation was not introduced to create obstacles, but to identify in a fair and transparent manner [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_60080\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"60080\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 -34 330 -124 456 -258 112 -119 167 -219 211 -378 27 -96 24 -300 -5 -401 -72 -255 -236 -447 -474 -557 -132 -62 -201 -76 -368 -76 -167 0 -236 14 -368 76 -213 98 -373 271 -451 485 -162 444 86 934 547 1084 153 49 292 57 452 25z m909 -232 c222 -123 408 -262 593 -441 76 -74 138 -139 138 -144 0 -16 -233 -242 -330 -319 -155 -123 -309 -223 -461 -299 l-81 -41 32 46 c18 26 49 83 70 128 143 306 141 649 -6 957 -25 52 -61 116 -79 142 l-34 47 45 -20 c26 -10 76 -36 113 -56z m-2057 25 c-40 -58 -105 -190 -130 -263 -110 -324 -59 -707 132 -981 25 -35 42 -64 37 -64 -19 0 -241 119 -326 174 -188 122 -406 314 -532 468 l-58 71 108 103 c185 178 428 349 672 473 66 33 121 60 123 61 2 0 -10 -19 -26 -42z\"\/><path d=\"M2375 1950 c-198 -44 -350 -190 -395 -379 -18 -76 -8 -221 19 -290 114 -284 457 -406 731 -260 98 52 188 154 231 260 27 69 37 214 19 290 -38 163 -166 304 -326 360 -67 23 -215 33 -279 19z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":46379,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-local-news"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ministry-for-Agriculture.png",440,114,false],"thumbnail":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ministry-for-Agriculture-150x39.png",150,39,true],"medium":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ministry-for-Agriculture-300x78.png",300,78,true],"medium_large":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ministry-for-Agriculture.png",440,114,false],"large":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ministry-for-Agriculture.png",440,114,false],"1536x1536":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ministry-for-Agriculture.png",440,114,false],"2048x2048":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ministry-for-Agriculture.png",440,114,false],"td_0x420":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ministry-for-Agriculture.png",440,114,false],"td_80x60":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ministry-for-Agriculture-80x60.png",80,60,true],"td_218x150":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ministry-for-Agriculture-218x114.png",218,114,true],"td_324x400":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ministry-for-Agriculture-324x114.png",324,114,true],"td_696x0":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ministry-for-Agriculture.png",440,114,false],"td_1068x0":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ministry-for-Agriculture.png",440,114,false],"td_100x70":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ministry-for-Agriculture-100x70.png",100,70,true],"td_265x198":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ministry-for-Agriculture-265x114.png",265,114,true],"td_324x160":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ministry-for-Agriculture-324x114.png",324,114,true],"td_324x235":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ministry-for-Agriculture-324x114.png",324,114,true],"td_356x220":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ministry-for-Agriculture-356x114.png",356,114,true],"td_356x364":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ministry-for-Agriculture-356x114.png",356,114,true],"td_533x261":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ministry-for-Agriculture.png",440,114,false],"td_534x462":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ministry-for-Agriculture.png",440,114,false],"td_696x385":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ministry-for-Agriculture.png",440,114,false],"td_741x486":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ministry-for-Agriculture.png",440,114,false],"td_1068x580":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ministry-for-Agriculture.png",440,114,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Bernard Lynch","author_link":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/author\/bernardlynch\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"In recent days, several comments and publications have been made regarding the Categorization of Farmers which have given an incomplete, and sometimes incorrect, picture of the process implemented by the Government. The Ministry would like to clarify that the categorisation was not introduced to create obstacles, but to identify in a fair and transparent manner&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60080"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60080\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60081,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60080\/revisions\/60081"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}