Minister for Agriculture Anton Refalo and Minister for Justice Jonathan Attard, have launched a reform that secures agricultural land together with a White Paper on reform in the field of farming.
In a news conference it was said that the government will be guaranteeing not only the sustainability of farming but also of food production, while protecting the rural environment.
The Ministers explained that through two tracks, the one in the immediate and the other looking in the long term, this should be one of the biggest environmental reforms in recent years.
A bill amending Chapter 199 of the Law of Malta will be brought before the Parliament immediately. This legislative intervention will lead to more balance between the interests of the owners of the fields, the tenant, or as the farmer is known, and even the interest of the public in general.
The government said that it will also be launching a White Paper, and the public consultation on the White Paper could be done after having carefully and seriously studied issues that exist in the field of farming.
Against this background, with what is proposed, the government is seeing that, among others, there is the creation of agricultural areas, that a fair and appropriate price is established, the knowledge that agricultural land has as its main purpose the cultivation of food, the registration of leases for the sale of agricultural land, and the keeping of a register of these transfers.
It is also proposed to create a special authority to act as a regulator in this area. The authority must include representation of the parties concerned and there will be the involvement of professionals and trained officials.
Minister Anton Refalo said that the agricultural sector is a crucial foundation for sustainable development and therefore the government intervened to further strengthen this area.
“The pandemic and consequently the war in Ukraine reminded us how important this sector is in order to ensure security in the supply of fresh food, the protection of biodiversity, and the quality of life for all of us,” stressed Minister Refalo.
Minister for Justice Jonathan Attard explained that the legislative reforms that the government is proposing are based on the principle of proportionality.
He went on to say that this is a very important bill, “where once again we are seeing a decisive government that is intervening and addressing situations that until today no one had the courage to address, in the same way that it intervened in the reform of the protected leases.”
Minister Attard claimed that through this decision, “the farmer will be given peace of mind that he cannot be evicted from his field, while the owner will be assured that he will not remain in the same situation as some are still experiencing today.”
The public consultation in relation to the White Paper is now open and everyone is invited to send their submissions by no later than Tuesday, the 8th of November. To read the White Paper in either English or Maltese and for further details on submissions, please click here [1].
File photo by Alain Salvary