The Rural Affairs Ministry is to issue guidelines this week to help tomato growers counter the threat to crops posed by the leafminer moth.

Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino said the guidelines had been drawn up in consultation with the farmers' associations and were meant to contain the spread of the damaging moth.

He said the moth (Tuta absoluta) had caused extensive harm to crops in several countries.

The government has allocated €300,000 to help growers to counter it. The measures will include pheromone traps to kill the moths.

The ministry is also registering all farmers, importers and processors of tomatoes. So far, 560 farmers have declared they will be growing tomatoes for processing this year.

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