High sea temperatures have caused clouds to form over Malta, leading to strong winds and storms – both bad for farmers at this time of year. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Hot and dry Maltese summers may conjure up images of farmers eagerly anticipating the rain but the unseasonal storms of the last few days have done crops no good whatsoever, say the farmers.

“We farmers still stick to the old calendar,” said Anna Zahra, president of the Ta’ Qali market committee. “We typically start bringing crops in on the feast of St Bartholomew on August 24, so this rain has been very bad for farmers.”

Over the last week, sea temperatures of 29 degrees Celsius, well above the norm for August, caused thundery clouds to form and expand rapidly over the Maltese islands, leading to strong winds and thunderstorms.

Ms Zahra said that for farmers in Rabat, where her family has fields, the rain has wreaked havoc with the harvest of onions, which have to be stored dry. Onions from Rabat, she explained, are known for their long shelf life due to a traditional harvest method, but the unexpected storms have caught farmers off guard.

“We say that xita f’April tiswa karru deheb fin [April rains are worth a cart-load of gold] but rains at this time of year can actually damage the fields’ surface.”

Paul Abela, a full-time farmer from Burmarrad, said fields in the area had been spared the worst of the rain.

“The storms have been passing quickly and the wind dries it up very fast. As long as the rainfall doesn’t exceed 10mm, I don’t expect there to be a lot of damage,” he said.

Mr Abela, whose main priority at the moment is the harvest of Chardonnay grapes, explained that the increased humidity could lead to a faster spread of disease among crops, as well as a loss of sugar levels.

However, as the Chardonnay vines had already been treated, he said, this was unlikely to be a major issue.

John Gauci, from the Farmers Central Cooperative Society, said that the tomato crop would also be affected and could spoil quicker due to the rains.

He added, however, that this was not the first time farmers have had to contend with such wet weather.

“The problem is that it’s so out of season, but the effect in the past has not been catastrophic.”