ADPD is calling for a halt to the destruction of Gozo and that agriculture is safeguarded for our food security needs.

ADPD – The Green Party spokespersons Carmel Cacopardo and Luke Caruana, at a press conference on Sunday, called for an immediate halt to the destruction of Gozo.

They also highlighted the need for arable land to be protected in order that food security in our country is guaranteed.

ADPD candidate on the 12th and 13th District Luke Caruana said that although many issues impacting Malta have a direct bearing on Gozo, there are specific ones that should be given particular attention for Gozitans’ needs to be better addressed.

“The proposed tunnel between Malta and Gozo would lead to financial and environmental ruin and should be scrapped,” he said. “If it were to go ahead this will be creating untold environmental damage at the Gozitan side in Ta’ Kenuna, Nadur as well as in the environs of tal-Gherien in Mellieha where it will have its entrance/exit in Malta.”

Caruana also stressed that the proposed airport for small aircraft in Gozo “should be taken off the table – when one considers that similar experiments with helicopter flights in the past were not deemed viable how can the further erosion of ODZ land be justified?’

“Other services should be extended instead, such as more berthing points for the fast ferry,” he said.

Caruana pointed that that Gozitan local councils that have been speaking out in one voice against the ongoing destruction on the island should be heeded more by the authorities. “The latest obscenity in Sannat has just been approved.”

“We do not reckon it is purely a coincidence that the developer behind this project, Joseph Portelli, happens to be the man that a few months ago admitted that he finds no issue in donating to both the PLPN expecting favours in return,” concluded Caruana.

ADPD – The Green Party Chairperson and candidate on the 4th and 9th District Carmel Cacopardo said that the land on which this latest project in Sannat has been approved is very much suitable for agriculture.

“Such ill-suited decisions are leaving an impact on food provision in our country leading to a greater dependency on imports while putting the livelihoods of our farmers at risk,” he said.

Cacopardo went on to say that “the latest permit awarded should also be seen in the context of the Partit Laburista’s proposal for green spaces in urban areas. Neither the PN is credible in its environmental considerations. Both present themselves as green with fancy proposals but in reality they are accomplices with those who are hell bent on destroying our environment.”

“At the end of the day the PLPN are always in cahoots with the money makers, against the common citizen and our environment,” stressed Cacopardo.

He stated that “this type of development was not the only threat being faced by our farmers. There is also the increased demand for the purchase of tracts of agricultural land for recreational use. Many landowners are preferring to sell their land for a substantial sum than simply receive the few Euros they get from leasing the land.”

“It is a known fact that agriculture does not render enough profit to justify those prices and so the law of the jungle where whoever is able to afford those prices rule the roost prevails. However, Judge Lawrence Mintoff has recently made a case in favour of agriculture,” stated Cacopardo.

“He said the country should appreciate more and safeguard the benefits obtainable by agriculture. If we do not safeguard it, what are we going to eat? Our dependence on overseas suppliers may lead to delays and limited provision, as we have seen during the pandemic and now with the Ukraine invasion. We can never rely completely on importation. Our land is able to provide as was proven in the past. But we need to safeguard it!”

“In spite of the liberalisation of commerce and food imports, it still remains the State’s duty to ensure that we are not excessively dependent on overseas supplies. Otherwise agriculture in our country is doomed,” concluded Cacopardo.

Photo by Alain Salvary

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