The tomato growing season this year was a successful one with only one to two per cent of the crop having to be destroyed because of the pest tuta absoluta, Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino said.

He said that 20 per cent of last year’s production had had to be destroyed because of this pest, intercepted for the first time in the Maltese islands in April last year.

To help producers, the government had drawn up a plan following consultation with the organisations representing growers, strengthened the legislative sectors and issues measures of controls, guidelines and instructions.

An information campaign was also carried out and tomato growers were asked to register for the preventive plan to be drawn up better.

Those who registered benefited from vouchers given as a subsidy on the sale of traps for this pest. There had been around 1,200 farmers who declared they grew tomatoes on 265 hectares of land.

The government distributed around 44,000 vouchers each offering more than 50 per cent discount. A total of €110,000 were invested in this initiative.

This season there were nine nurseries which declared they grew between them 1,216,475 tomato seeds.

Mr Pullicino said that registration for the season starting in September was opening next week.