The government was considering the introduction of a tax system that would be related to the value of products which full-time farmers sell at the wholesale market, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Ninu Zammit said yesterday.

This system would eliminate the need for farmers to provide the Inland Revenue Department with a breakdown of their income at the end of the year because they would have paid the tax during the year.

In the case of part-time farmers, the plan is to tax them according to their primary source of income.

Speaking during a seminar organised by the Farmers Association, Mr Zammit said the financial assistance that farmers will be getting from the government will not be taxable.

The government, he said, had put together a special package for farmers that would amount to Lm70 million over a three-year period.

Mr Zammit made it clear that the assistance will be directly related to the amount of produce farmers sell at the wholesale market.

The minister appealed to farmers to set up producers` organisations which will help channel government funds, regulate supply according to demand and tap new markets.