In the past 24 hours the Malta Youth in Agriculture (MaYA) Foundation together with Moviment Graffitti have published two separate position papers on one common subject – agricultural land leases.

The organisations said in a statement, that they were “forced to keep them separate since this is how it has been presented in Parliament. In the Agriculture Minister’s own words – the White Paper has nothing to do with Kap. 199 (Bill no. 15).”

Therefore, the organisations insisted that “even though they are different documents, we cannot agree that either one should be discussed in isolation.”

They have questioned the timing of 16 Bill (Agricultural Leases (Reletting) (Amendment) Act, 2022) which was tabled for the first reading on the same day as the Publication of the White Paper on the Reform in the Acquisition and Ownership of Farmland.

In a statement, the NGOs said that “this sheds doubt on whether this was done in a healthy spirit of goodwill and collaboration among all the interested stakeholders, or whether the White Paper was construed as a cosmetic ‘box-ticking’ exercise by the Ministry.”

Both organisations said that the share “deep reservations” for the Bill that, by the time of the deadline for submissions on the White Paper, has already reached the advanced stage of the Second Reading in Parliament.

They stated that, “unfortunately, the Bill comes at a time when the sector is still waiting for an important jurisprudential pronouncement that could very well change the scenario with regard to the constitutionality of agricultural leases. Moreover, should this Bill become law, it might create more uncertainty than it resolves.”

The documents can be found on the links below:

https://www.maya.org.mt/post/agriculture-land-reform-white-paper-feedback

https://www.maya.org.mt/post/position-paper-on-bill-no-15

File photo: Gozo News/Alain Salvary

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