Citizen cultivators forced to abandon their allotments at the Għammieri government farm denied allegations of “gross negligence” and “conflict” made by the Parliamentary Secretariat for Agriculture led by Roderick Galdes.
Times of Malta spoke to a number of people given allotments under the Midd Idejk fil-Biedja (try your hand at farming) project.
All described its benefits to their lives, saying it contributed positively to their wellbeing and heaped praise on neighbouring cultivators whom they now miss.
They all referred to their disappointment when they received a letter a week after the elections informing them the Għammieri project would be discontinued and they had to abandon their plot within three months.
When the project came to an end, it was one of the biggest disappointments of my life
Most preferred to remain anonymous, fearing reprisal. But Marie Avellino was full of praise for the project: “We miss having it. My husband and I work long hours and it helped us relax. We all got on.
“People were helping each other and showing each other their produce with pride. Some people were going through a really bad patch, and the project provided an outlet for them.”
An alternative site in Bulebel was identified but the only progress made a year later is a sign at an apparently empty field.
When Times of Malta asked the Secretariat why the scheme was not extended, the blame fell on the cultivators’ shoulders.
“The reasons for not extending this scheme were largely related to the gross negligence of some plot holders who failed to abide by the rules... conflicts between the individual plot holders became the order of the day,” the secretariat said.
This surprised most of the people Times of Malta contacted. They said each allotment was bound by a contract and anyone who broke its terms could have been removed.
They spoke highly of each other, although they did admit there was a handful who did not abide by the rules. But the infringements were minor and they were repeatedly reported but no action was taken. Suddenly, everyone was ordered out.
When Times of Malta visited the site in 2012, the newspaper reported a peaceful community grateful for the chance to be able to pass the time in that way.
Joseph Demanuele had a plot bulging with produce, evidence of his commitment and dedication to the allotment.
“When the project came to an end, it was one of the biggest disappointments of my life.
“I was looking forward to retiring to be able to spend more time there, especially after I spent two years learning how to grow my own produce. It’s a pity,” Mr Demanuele said.
The project launched in 2011 involved 57 allotments, each 50 square metres in size, dedicated to citizen cultivators. It was so popular the scheme was oversubscribed.
Cultivators had to pay an annual fee of €100 and got free water and fortnightly lectures on organic farming.
Andrew Vella said the project should be extended to other areas around Malta: “It was such a positive project. It was something new and different.
“You knew what you were eating. Such projects should be extended to other areas, as is happening abroad. People are now more aware about healthy eating and the ‘grow your own food movement’ is growing.”
But government enthusiasm for the project has waned. “The pilot project provided a wide learning curve for us that amply showed that such a scheme was not practical in an experimental farm such as Għammieri,” the Parliamentary Secretariat for Agriculture said.