Rise in farm incomes

Farmers saw their income rise by Lm423,000, or 15 per cent in the first five months of this year even though the amount of fruit and vegetables declared at the vegetable market was three million kilogrammes less than in the same period the previous year, Agriculture Minister Ninu Zammit said yesterday.

The minister told the annual meeting of the Gozitano cooperative in Gozo that financial assistance that would be given to farmers later this year would ensure that they continued to have a fair income even as levies started to be lifted. The money would also help them restructure their sector.

He stressed that the levies would be removed over a period of years, giving the farmers enough time to improve their efficiency. The levies would have to be removed whether or not Malta joined the EU, but doing so within the EU would make the farmers eligible for help from both the government and the EU. The EU had already bound itself to give Malta five million euros for the agricultural sector.

Mr Zammit said farmers would also benefit from a new tax system based on their product declarations at the vegetable market, with the due tax being deducted directly from payments for their produce.

The minister praised farmers who had already started the restructuring process and were also diversifying their produce, particularly by cultivating vines and olives for pressing.