Farmers will be receiving a total of €5 million a year in direct payments under the EU’s new agricultural reform, with specific aid targeted at the sectors of milk, beef, sheep and tomatoes.
Under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2014-2020, Malta was given particular flexibility to adapt to its special needs.
In 2012, Malta threatened not to support any changes to the EU budget if the European Commission did not consider the country’s specific needs in its CAP proposals.
Under a derogation, Malta will be allowed to channel €3 million a year as voluntary coupled support into those specific sectors which are facing economic, social or environmental difficulties.
Agriculture Parliamentary Secretary Roderick Galdes yesterday said that dairy farmers and tomato producers in particular needed specific support since bovines in Malta do not have the luxury of roaming on large expanses of land and are mainly restricted to the confines of their farms.
The tomato industry, on the other hand, needed help to move forward as it employed hundreds of people and was a very important industry for both Malta and Gozo.
57%
of Maltese farmers are over the age of 55
Over the next seven years, the new CAP will be investing €134 million in the Maltese farming sector and rural areas.
Financial assistance through the direct payment scheme will be implemented in five ways.
The basic payment scheme acts as a safety net for farmers by supplementing their main business income. To qualify for this support, farmers must actively farm their land.
This year, Malta will be allocating new entitlements based on the land being farmed and the activity undertaken. Farmers who can apply for this scheme must have over 0.3 hectares of eligible agricultural land.
The CAP reform also introduces a green direct payment scheme, which is paid to farmers on the condition they undertake practices that are beneficial to the climate and to the environment.
The basic practices that farmers must undertake include crop diversification and having five per cent of their land as ecological focus area.
Along with many other countries, Mr Galdes said Malta was facing the problem of ageing farmers.
In general, farm managers in Malta tend to be older than the EU average, with 57 per cent of farmers over the age of 55.
“We must incentivise youths. It is not easy – such a career demands sacrifice and is riddled by a number of challenges.”
Young farmers (who are aged under 40) will be strongly encouraged to set up in business, with the introduction of a new 25 per cent aid supplement during the first five years, in addition to already existing measures.
The small farmers scheme will target those farmers receiving less than €1,250 per year in direct payments. Participants will face less stringent cross-compliance requirements and be exempt from greening.
In order to receive direct payments and some other forms of support, farmers are required to respect certain rules. This requirement is known as cross-compliance.
These rules concern food safety, animal health, plant health, the climate, the environment, the protection of water resources, animal welfare and the condition in which farmland is maintained.
If a farmer is found not to respect these rules, his direct payments may be reduced.