Maltese farmers saw their income from agriculture decline sharply this year, ending a close second to the worst performers in the EU, their Belgian counterparts.

Real agricultural income per worker dropped by 21.2 per cent when compared to 2010, according to the EU’s statistics office, Eurostat. Belgium experienced a drop of 22.5 per cent.

Although this might be the result of a bad year for the island – as the sector is highly dependent on climatic conditions – it still reflects a consistent downward trend in a sector which, until a few years ago, was reliant on subsidies and protectionism. Since 2005, real agriculture income per worker in Malta has dropped by 28 per cent.

The EU in general provided a stark contrast to Malta’s negative performance with the figure going up by an average of 6.7 per cent, following an increase last year of 12.6 per cent.

Eurostat said the highest rises were seen in Romania (+43.7 per cent), Hungary (+41.8 per cent) and Ireland (+30.1 per cent) – all countries where the farming community is still substantially numerous.

The EU’s higher average incomes were attributed to a rise in prices of agricultural products, mainly due to an increase in the value of both crop and animal produce.