Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1240944
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 APRIL 2020 CORONAVIRUS CRISIS JAMES DEBONO JEANETTE Borg set up the Mal- ta Youth in Agriculture Foun- dation (MaYA) to protect the interests of young Maltese farm- ers, and she has been vocal about food security with her call to ful- ly use Malta's idle uncultivated fields by facilitating young farm- ers' access to this land. Now the COVID-19 crisis has brought a new sense of urgency to these arguments. So far, Maltese farmers have shown a remarkable ability to adapt to the radically changed circumstances. Necessity being the mother of invention, farmers, butchers and street vendors have taken up the challenge to reach their clients through pick-ups or deliveries to ensure continued farm sales and flexible options for families at home, with Face- book pages taking farmers to the commmunity. This sign of vitality in the farm- ing sector, one known to resist online marketing, could be one of the pandemic's legacies, Jeanette Borg says, and with it, a renewed appreciation of local agricultural produce amongst the Maltese. "Farmers are doing a great job in Malta in producing and deliv- ering fresh produce to their cli- ents. They survived a harsh dry winter but regained momentum thanks to the showers and cool temperatures we had a few weeks ago," Borg says. Panic-buying at the start of the pandemic had already ex- posed the fragility of food supply chains. And fears of a second wave of COVID-19 may lead to an even stricter lockdown, prompting European leaders – including past advocates of globalisation like French Pres- ident Emmanuel Macron – to start addressing the issue of food sovereignity by putting local ag- riculture at the forefront of their decision-making bodies. Moreover, in times of uncer- tainity, consumers also take greater comfort in fresh local produce. "The prospect of a complete lockdown which may halt imports may well have made us think more on our food secu- rity and sovereignity," Borg says. This prospect even led the Vet- erinary Regulation Directorate to issue a number of temporary per- mits to farmers who have the ca- pacity to produce more livestock, in case Malta goes on a complete lockdown. This is a crucial issue for the MaYA Foundation. "Food security and food sover- eignty are two topics that should really be at the forefront of local authorities... but here we need a big push," she says. The crucial role of farmers in food supply has led the US au- thorities to map out the number of positive cases of workers in ag- riculture so that forecasts can be done to ensure food processing and distribution. "This is the level of detail being considered about food produc- tion by others. Why shouldn't we do the same?" Borg acknowledges that Mal- ta can never depend fully on its own production due to the high food demand of an overpopu- lated nation. "But certainly we can do more to safeguard farm- ers and the farms they manage. Unfortunately we still have high ranking officials who view agri- culture as a minor contributor to the GDP... despite these circum- stances, they still fail to see that food comes from the soil and not from supermarkets." While some measures have been implemented, we have con- tinued to ignore the elephant in the room which stands in the way of food sovereignity: the amount of abandoned agricul- tural land and the lack of syn- ergy between land use planning and agriculture. "As a nation, we cannot afford to have suitable agricultural land, especially gov- ernment-owned land, to remain abandoned," Borg says. One major problem is that Malta has an ageing farming population. "However, there are several young people capable of working the land or producing livestock – through experience – who wish to do so as a part- time job or hobby, but are not being given the chance". The MaYA Foundation con- tinuously receives calls for sup- port from young people who encounter land use issues. Some of them are not farmers but as- sist their farming families out of passion. "They encounter insur- mountable difficulties to man- age, take over part of their farm, or acquire land," Borg says. She describes the transferring of land as "an untangled cob- web" of bureacratic obstacles to the detriment of the farmers. The cost of land has became too high for farmers to afford. "Moreover, a lot of agricultur- al land is being sold as recrea- tional land to non-farm owners who do not necessarily have the intention to become subsist- ence farmers. "Not only are high rubble walls being built around these coun- tryside enclaves but the arrival of new leisure-oriented resi- dents in the countryside often leads to disputes with the neigh- bouring farmers, either because they don't want to have bees around, either because the ma- nure stinks or because the sound of the cultivator irritates them," she said. Which goes to show that the key to safeguarding the coun- try's food supply is to, quite sim- ply, ensure that agricultural land remains agricultural land. "We are seeing too many roads, residences and industrial sites budding, taking over fertile land. We are shooting ourselves in the foot," Borg says. Another problem is that older farmers find it difficult to let go. "Locally, we often find elderly farmers in their 80s or even 90s, who willfully want to keep land tenureship to themselves. Some may fear inheritance disputes. However, the inheritance dis- putes still happen, after they are deceased." This can be avoided if elderly family members acknowledge and assign land to their heirs, leaving a detailed will. "This can be a very complicated process, however if it is done in the best interests of all family members, the results are fruitful." But an even better scenario is when the assignment of plots of land is discussed in advance, involving all family members. "We know of cases where young farmers have taken over land from grandparents and are hap- pily managing it." But apart from implementing the concrete steps listed in the National Agriculture Strategy for Malta to revitalise the sector and facilitate the entry of young- er farmers in the sector, it's the "mentality" that remains the biggest obstacle. "The Italians praise their farmers and boast about their products. We are still not ac- knowledging the potential of agriculture. Land speculators and nay-sayers have spread their negativity towards agriculture for their own reasons," she says. Many still discourage their sons and daughters in working in agriculture. "As a foundation we praise those farmers who instil a sense of pride towards the land and their livestock in their children. Being a farmer should be catego- rised by educators as the profes- sion that feeds the people." Local is best. The pandemic shows us COVID-19 reminds us how crucial farmers are in securing Malta's fragile food supply. But will it be the wake- up call to farming from decline and concrete? Jeanette Borg from the Malta Youth in Agriculture Foundation (MaYA) says farmers are coping with the pandemic but there are still ways how agriculture can thrive in the future "As a nation, we cannot afford to have suitable agricultural land, especially government-owned land, to remain abandoned"