Labour MEP Alfred Sant has insisted that if the European Commission is not interested in promoting new agricultural projects in Malta, these initiatives should be taken by the Maltese nation to ensure the sustainable operations of Maltese farmers and animal breeders.
Dr Sant in a statement said that statistics provided by the Commission showed that Maltese agriculture was showing negative signs during the last years. With a few exceptions, Malta had a constant negative outturn in the agricultural sector.
He was reacting after the Commission in reply to a parliamentary question told him there was no need for new proposals that would provide specific conditions for the Maltese agricultural sector.
"The EC is not interested in the problems Maltese and Gozitan farmers and animal breeders are facing. The Commission does not seem preoccupied with the downward trend in the agricultural sector due to the small size of the Malta islands. We must keep insisting on the value of agriculture in Malta and Gozo." Dr Sant said.
He had asked the EC whether it agreed with the view that agriculture in Malta, which to date operates under the most stringent conditions existing in the EU, needs to be maintained. Dr Sant also asked the Commission if it agreed that the implementation of the common agricultural policy to Maltese farming was proving to be counterproductive and would lead to its dying out.
Replying, Phil Hogan, EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, denied that the Common Agricultural Policy negatively affected agriculture in Malta. It said that rural development policy allowed for a flexible approach and provided Member States with the possibility to design a tailor-made programme taking into account the specificities of the programme area.
The Commission said the Maltese Rural Development Programme for the programming period 2014-2020 is still under consideration. The new system of direct payments to farmers also provides Member States with a large degree of flexibility to address Member States' specificities.
Hogan said the Common Agricultural Policy provides support to ensure that farming activity remains in place throughout the European territory, including parts of Europe where farming is particularly difficult, such as hilly, mountainous, insular and/or remote areas. The Commission noted that the allocation for Malta under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development for the programming period 2014-2020 was considerably increased to €99 million.