Farmers want to turn to politicians to protect their interests, former MEP believes
Local farmers need to become more politically active and involved in decisions that affect Malta’s food security and their future, urged an expert on the EU’s common agricultural policy.
“In Bulgaria, farmers realized they needed to unite to fight for their interests,” said former Bulgarian MEP Petya Stavreva, who now leads the political party United Agrarians in her country.
“Over the years they have registered their own political parties to participate in policy-making at national and European level.”
She was talking to her Times of Malta before the deadline for EU countries to submit their proposals for a new common agricultural policy. She is a frequent visitor to Malta and often meets stakeholders in the agricultural sector.
In June, European negotiators agreed on the need for policy reform, with the aim of fostering a sustainable sector that can support farmers’ livelihoods and good food for society.
Member States have until the end of the year to submit their policy proposals for 2023-2027, and the European Commission will then have six months to assess and approve the plans.
Under the proposals, EU countries will have to devote at least 10 per cent of direct payments to better address the needs of small and medium-sized farms such as those run by families in Malta. They will also have to invest at least three percent of their budget in young farmers.
Stavreva is optimistic that the focus on young farmers and small farms will make the Maltese agricultural sector sustainable in the long run.
“In the past, member states needed to respect a general framework imposed by the European Union, but now each country has the opportunity to develop its own rural development plan and tailor-made subsidies for farmers.”
Every country has its needs. In Bulgaria, for example, rose farmers were among the hardest hit by COVID. Demand for rose oil has fallen and rose flower prices have fallen to less than € 1 per kilo.
Many farmers let them rot in the fields because it was not worth harvesting.
But farmers were protected by a recently enacted law that they themselves had pushed for, Stavreva noted, and eventually received subsidies to stay afloat.
“Farmers’ protection is a matter of national security. Many – especially those who complain about farmers receiving subsidies – do not realize that the funds farmers receive go to improving the quality of food that falls on their table. ”
His fellow activist Mario Gerada, from the conservation NGO Nadir, noted that until he hit COVID, people would laugh at those raising the food security alarm in Malta. Thankfully, respect for farmers had grown over the past 20 months as people realized they could no longer rely on imported food, he said.
However, many farmers here still felt marginalized.
“Environmental NGOs and the Maltese Farmers ‘Association are doing an excellent job of raising awareness of farmers’ hardships, including access to land. However, farmers themselves also need to safeguard their own interests and land by becoming more politically literate, ”he said.
“This means that rather than relying entirely on government entities to speak on their behalf, they better understand what is being negotiated between Malta and Brussels and influence that process to ensure that decisions are tailored to Maltese farmers.”
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