5 comments so far.New hope for Maltese and Gozitan Farmers, says Alfred Sant
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Former Prime Minister Alfred Sant said that Malta needs to convince the European Union to give recognition to the creation of Maltese branding of agricultural output of local origin so that they can be profitably developed. Initiatives on this basis will have to be led by the Maltese government which has already started down this road.
Dr Sant added that there have been instances of Maltese and Gozitan farmers who have managed to find niches of agricultural output they managed to turn into profit centres. “In the future we shall have to discover other such niches.”
Alfred Sant, who is contesting the MEP elections in May, pledged that if elected to the European Parliament, he would back to the hilt government initiatives in favour of Maltese agriculture and would take care to press for all reforms of the present system.
“We need to give new hope to Maltese and Gozitan farmers,” stressed Alfred Sant. “But it will be equally important to ensure that from the side of the European Parliament there full efforts continue to back such initiatives-“
During a tour this morning of various greenhouses at Imtahleb, limits of Rabat, Malta, Alfred Sant was taken around by local farmers to view the varieties of fresh vegetables that this enterprise produces in its greenhouses for the Maltese and foreign markets.
He praised the work being carried out at the Greenhouses, and said that their output is top class. “The problem is that many local farmers specialising in production of fresh vegetables are feeling subjected to unfair competition.
“They feel that their work should be given due allowance and compensation for the disadvantages that they have to carry. Most of the latter result from the smallness of the Maltese territory and from the lack of water,” Alfred Sant concluded.
Photo – Alfred Sant speaking to a local farmer while touring fresh vegatables produced in greenhouses in Imtahleb, limits of Rabat, Malta.
Go organic – Gozo is particularly ideal for this. There’s a lot of demand for organic produce here and hardly any available. Also how about free range meat?
You are so right Sarah.
And please, we can’t let MONSANTO’s GMOs take control of the food crop and vegetable seeds.
If we are afraid of gmo’s how come people buy so much foreign agricultural produce.
We know how to grow but we do not know how to sell our produce. Where are the standards such as grading, packing, cold rooms facilities, Producer Organisations, information meetings carried out by competent hands on personel. Throughout the last 40years on numerous occasions the above were promised but nothing was ever done. Before we entered the EU the farming community was promised the famous ‘safeguard clause’ to put every bodies mind at rest. We were cheated and instead we are being given EU money to invest but where is the market. This is shrinking all the time and with it the numbers of farmers. Dr.Alfred Sant I will surely cast my vote for you as you are now our beacon. Please feel free to ask me to help you out as this way I will help our farming community and the the general public in getting better agricultural food at reasonable prices. Thank you for your sincere efforts.
Dear Patrick,
buying local produce is fundamental -and I do just that.
By the way, where are all the veges & fruits sold at LIDL going to come from??
I sincerely believe in the future of Gozitan agriculture and you seem to have the right vision to accomplish that.
SIncerely, Sabine.