Farmers in decline but subsidies boost income

Malta has lost 400 full-time farmers in a decade due to the decline in agricultural work, according to EU figures out yesterday.

The phenomenon, which is not confined to Malta, happened at a time when income from work connected to agriculture increased substantially on the island.

The figures, published by the EU's statistical arm Eurostat, show that the island last year had 4,000 full-time farmers, about 10 per cent fewer than in 2000.

With less land available for farming and most youngsters preferring a less physically demanding job, the loss of agricultural workers is a global trend. The decline in Malta, however, is smaller than in the rest of the EU, which has lost 25 per cent since 2000.

In a few member states, particularly the former communist countries, the farming community has been slashed by nearly half.

On the other hand, while income from farming dropped in the EU, the opposite has happened in Malta.

In 2009, income from agriculture went up by eight per cent compared to the year before, the biggest increase in the EU. On the contrary, member states saw their income fall by more than 11 per cent on average in the same period.

Eurostat sources said agricultural subsidies, particularly from the EU, have been instrumental in boosting the income of Maltese farmers: "Malta benefits quite substantially from agriculture subsidies to farmers and agricultural land owners as part of the deal negotiated before the island's accession."

However, these subsidies are not everlasting; they are being gradually cut back and will come to an end by 2013.

Last year, the five member states with the highest employment in the agricultural sector accounted for almost two thirds of the EU27 total: Poland, Romania, Italy, Spain and France.