New Farm Advisory Service being set up

The government is to set up a Farm Advisory Service in terms of the new Rural Development Plan, Parliamentary Secretary Francis Agius told Parliament yesterday.

He said the service would be the first of its kind in Malta and plans for next year would include direct assistance to farmers and a series of short courses for farmers for which Lm83,000 were being allocated.

In terms of the plan, a further Lm272,000 were being allocated to improve irrigation services and access to fields and Lm350,000 would go for the restoration of old agricultural structures.

Dr Agius, who was speaking during the budget debate on agriculture, denied that the government had not kept its promises to help farmers. Over five years Lm41.6 million had been used to help agriculture with annual aid rising from Lm6.5 million five years ago to Lm9 million. That apart from millions of euros in other aid on rural development. The Payment Agency, he said, had now achieved recognition, ensuring there was total transparency in the way payments were made to farmers.

He said the past year had seen a 1.3 per cent increase in sales at the Pitkalija vegetable market for a total of Lm2.4 million.

In the poultry sector, problems had been solved thanks to assistance from the goverernment and the production of broilers had risen by 30 per cent per quarter this year.

The opposition, he said, had not said one word about the wave of rising cereal and fodder prices abroad and how the government was helping local farmers by cushioning the blow. This would also mean reasonable prices for consumers.

Dr Agius said the government was placing a strong accent on good farming practices which included the promotion of organic farming, which was increasing every year.

Turning to the wine sector, Dr Agius announced that at European meetings within the CMO process, Malta had been allocated €1.6 million for the years 2009-15 which would benefit growers and pressers. The funds could be used to strengthen vineyards and promote Maltese wine abroad, improving its competitiveness. This followed in the wake of recognition of Maltese DOC and IGT quality markings, further safeguarding quality.

The parliamentary secretary said funds were being allocated for agro-tourism including the restoration of areas of interest. He also underlined the investment being made at the slaughter house and insisted that hygiene standards were very high.

Dr Farrugia said KIM, the port breeders' cooperatives, recently signed two agreements that would help make the sector viable. As a result, in due course, the Comino pig farm would be dismantled.

Turning to fisheries, Dr Agius said research by the San Lucjan aquaculture centre had put Malta at the forefront with regard to the breeding and farming of amberjack, apart from the progress already made with regard to tuna and other fish.

He said the new €2 million hardstanding facility at Marsaxlokk was proving to be of great assistance to fishermen and helping the industry become more competitive.

Earlier in the debate, Noel Farrugia, opposition speaker for agriculture, hit out at the government for not enforcing the special safeguards it claimed to have negotiated with the EU to protect local interests in the agriculture sector.

Imports were flooding in to the detriment of local producers and the farming community had been thrown into disarray by what the government had promised but not done, he said.

In some cases, the government was offering subsidies, such as to the meat producers, but they were inadequate.

The rural development plan for Malta had been produced several months late and it did not appear to be backed by the necessary funding.

The agriculture ministry was clearly disconnected from farmers and other operators. It was disgusting that not even the minister knew that veterinary doctors did not agree with the recent change of system in the slaughtering of animals. So many vets had left the public service that the government had had to call in an Italian official who was being paid very well. The good thing was that the veterinary staff was dedicated, but there was total confusion.

Mr Farrugia said micro propagation was meant to reduce net imports of trees and substitute them through nursery activities, so that there would be enough to decorate Malta's landscaped areas. But the department did not even have the basic tools to work with. People were exorted to plant olive and other trees, but the ones planted by the government department itself were left in a bad state.

Turning to the poultry industry, Mr Farrugia said he would like to know how the industry was expected to prosper when production was half what it was before 2004 and subsidies were set to cease.

Why had the tomato growing industry slumped to under 10,000 tonnes from the target of 27,000 tonnes for processing? What measures were being taken to redress the situation?

Under Labour a laboratory had been set up to analyse water, seeds and soil. But the current administration had discontinued the project.

Under Labour, production had risen in all farming sectors, unlike what had happened under the current administration.

Turning to the fishing industry, Mr Farrugia said fishermen who had not registered in time had been demoted from MFA to MFB. The aquaculture zone project had manifestly failed and no help had been forthcoming following the recent storms. Would the industry have to wait forever for studies to be completed? If applications were lodged before the rural development plan was brought into action there would be no subsidies paid.

In tuna fishing it was well known that the Italian fleet was using drift-nets and fishing above the allocated quota while Maltese fishermen had kept within their limits. The ministry was wrong not to inspect foreign fishing operations, using military resources. Once returned to power, Labour would do everything possible to protect Maltese fishermen, Mr Farrugia said.