Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1409324
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 SEPTEMBER 2021 INTERVIEW The value of land is not measured only in euros Last November's Constitutional court-ruling – which overturned a ban on land-owners raising 'qbiela' [tenancy fees] for farm- ers – has ushered in a period of uncertainty for Maltese agricul- ture. First of all: what are the implications of this ruling? And what effects has it had, in the past 10 months? MALCOLM: One of the main effects is that, following this rul- ing, other land-owners have al- so opened court-proceedings to evict their own tenant farmers. There are in fact, now dozens of such cases before the law-courts. But while the situation is un- folding now, it has been a long time coming. In the past, there were many attempts by landowners to evict tenant farmers. But with last November's verdict, the Con- stitutional Court ruled that the law which was there to protect farmers was 'unconstitutional'… and that is what really started everything. In a nutshell, this sentence ruled that this law - which pre- vented landowners from re- claiming their land, and also from raising the 'qbiela' - was denying landowners the fun- damental human right to enjoy their private property. It was practically the same argument was that was used in the case of the rent law reform… Excuse me for interrupting: but if the arguments were the same as in rent-law reform – which most would agree was neces- sary to correct a historic injus- tice against landowners – why should this case be treated dif- ferently? MALCOLM: Mostly, because it's not a like-with-like scenario. For example: in last November's case, the court decided that the value of the 'qbiela' should be set at a percentage – somewhere around 1.5 to 2% - of the 'value of the land'. But what happened? The court appointed an archi- tect to value the land in ques- tion. Now: the formula this archi- tect used, to estimate the land's value, was exactly the same as it would be for any commercial plot. And because the public de- mand for agricultural land is so high at the moment, the laws of supply and demand dictate that the worth of this particular plot of agricultural land would also be high. So high, in fact, that the farmer couldn't possibly afford to pay 1.5 to 2% of it in rent… But surely, the commercial val- ue of a plot depends on what it can actually be used for. What generally pushes up the price of any property is the potential worth of all the flats, garag- es, etc., that can be built on it. Here, however, we are talking about a plot that is presumably ODZ: so why such a high esti- mation in the first place? MALCOLM: There are two aspects to this. The first is that even non-developable land – a plot in ODZ, for example – is in very high demand today, just for recreational purposes. I was talking to a real estate agent re- cently; and he told me that today – especially after Covid, with all its lockdowns, etc. – the demand for a private, open 'getaway' space, somewhere in the coun- try, has suddenly exploded. The second is that the plan- ning regulations themselves are full of loopholes, which facilitate development even in non-devel- opable areas. For example, an application for a 'storehouse', or a 'tool-room', that will end up being neither of those things. Or the even bigger loophole about 'stables': which resulted in people first pretending to have horses; then pretending to need a stable for those horses; then eventually turning their 'stables' into private swimming pools… Another example concerns 'demmiela' [storage for manure]. They start off as applications for 'demmiela', yes… but then they become private cabins. The same goes for 'reservoirs'… in fact, there are so many of these loopholes, that people are now starting to register themselves as 'farmers' just to avail of them all. And it is very easy to do that, on paper: all you have to do is go to JobsPlus, and say: 'I am a farm- er'... And because of all this, peo- ple have come to look at 'open spaces in the country' – includ- ing agricultural land – only as an investment opportunity. And this obviously pushes the price of land up… I see what you're driving at; but then again, what other formu- la could the court-appointed architect possibly have used? If he based his evaluation only on the potential profitability for purely agricultural purposes… and Maltese agriculture now struggles to compete with prod- ucts from other EU members states; sold very cheaply at su- permarkets like LIDL – wouldn't he inevitably conclude that the land is technically worthless? MARIO: It's all depends on what we mean by 'value', really. In this case, there is also a ques- tion of social justice; and that has a value too. For example: in that article you mentioned earlier, we made two arguments that – in our opinion – justify the government using the same approach it used with the rent-law reform. In that case, government couldn't afford to have all those people, previously with a roof over their heads, suddenly kicked out onto the street. Even if just because it would have created a bigger problem for government itself: which would have had to somehow figure out what to do with them all. So the government took the decision it took: and I think it was a good compromise. Not only was it a very necessary so- cial justice measure, to avoid what would have been a massive homelessness problem; but it al- so respected, up to a point, the rights of the landowners. Because when you place everything on the weighing scales of justice: what's more A law protecting tenant farmers from eviction was recently declared 'unconstitutional': sending shockwaves through Malta's tiny farming community (most of whom rent their fields from private owners). MCAST lecturers MARIO CARDONA and MALCOLM BORG – of 'Kooperativa Rurali Manikata' and 'Ghaqda Bdiewa Attivi' respectively – argue that Malta must start acknowledging its own cultural debt to agriculture Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt JAMES BIANCHI Mario Cardona (left) and Malcolm Borg