Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1493026
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 19 FEBRUARY 2023 NEWS Call for Applications: The Broadcasting Authority is seeking to fill the post of Domestic Services & Support Services Officer A detailed job description is to be found on the Broadcasting Authority's website: http://www.ba.org.mt. Applicants must submit a letter of application together with a detailed copy of their CV by: • e-mail to administration.ba@ba.org.mt • not later than noon, Tuesday 21 st February 2023 Late applications will not be considered Jobs Plus Permit 74/2023 The Broadcasting Authority is a constitutional entity which regulates, licences and monitors all radio and television broadcasts originating from the Maltese Islands. Broadcasting Authority 7, Mile End Road, ĦAMRUN ĦMR 1719, Malta. Telephone: +356 2201 6000 KU RT SANSON E THE economic share of con- struction and real estate has diminished over two decades but they remain significant contributors to other sectors, a study shows. The share of construction to the country's gross value added (GVA) declined from 6.1% in 2000 to just 4.7% in 2021, and that of real estate increased slightly to 5.6% from 5.5%, the analysis prepared by Ian Borg and Noel Rapa from the Central Bank of Malta shows. Between 2014 and 2021, each sector contributed annually 0.3 percentage points to GVA growth, "a modest contribu- tion" when compared to other sectors. Services-related sectors such as the professional and admin- istrative sector, and the infor- mation and communication sector, were the main drivers of growth during the period 2014-2021. Even in terms of employ- ment share, the two sectors are among the lowest. Con- struction employed around 17,100 persons in 2021, while real estate employed around 3,400 people. Over the period 2014-2021, the construction sector direct- ly accounted for 5.9% of total employment. This share de- clined when compared to the period prior to 2014. Mean- while, the real estate sector employed 1% of total employ- ment during the same period. "When compared to the oth- er main sectors within the economy, the construction sector was the fourth small- est in 2021, whereas the real estate sector has the second lowest share," the report au- thors said. Nonetheless, despite the de- clining shares in value added and employment, the study found that construction and real estate still retain "signifi- Construction, real estate still 'significant' despite diminishing economic share Chicken farmers hen-pecked by EU plans on cages NICOLE MEILAK MALTESE chicken farmers face new hurdles by end of 2023 as the European Commission seeks to legislate against caged farming. The Nationalist MEP candi- date Peter Agius has written to European commissioners Stel- la Kyriakides and Janusz Wo- jciechowski calling on Brussels to examine the impact that this law would have on the Maltese farming industry. Under the proposed law, the Commission promises to phase out caged farming before ban- ning the practice altogether in 2027. The proposal came after a pe- tition circulated demanding an end to caged animal farming, with more than 1.4 million sig- natures collected. The law itself is set to be drafted and proposed by end of 2023, and will ban caged farm- ing for rabbits, young hens, quails, ducks and geese. While the changed will be proposed in 2023, the ban is set to be introduced by 2027. As EU rules stand now, only laying hens, broiler chickens, sows and calves are covered by rules on caging. A chicken farmer who spoke to MaltaToday said that this legislation will wreak havoc among local farmers and will force many of them out of busi- ness. "They would ruin every- one in Malta," he said. "Keeping chickens is already expensive." The farmer, who keeps 50,000 chickens, said that he would have to double his available space to bring himself in line with the rules. But the space it- self would be a huge expense to incur, and fields to keep chick- ens are not common to come by. He said the knock-on effect of this would mean that local products will become far more expensive than foreign goods, forcing even more local farmers out of business. Peter Agius explained to the European commissioners that this proposed law affects Mal- tese farmers disproportionate- ly. For example, while a farmer in Poland would have to spend €15,000 to increase their farm- ing space, a Maltese farmer looking to expand by the same amount of land would have to spend an average of €500,000. "It is evident that the law be- ing proposed by the European Commission will place Maltese farmers at a competitive dis- advantage, so much so that in no circumstance will a Maltese farmer be able to compete in terms of profitability, because the starting capital expense will be 10 times more expensive," Agius said. He said that the Commission is currently examining the wid- er impact of the proposed law, but this examination does not include a review of the particu- lar situation in Malta. Agius noted how the current guidelines concerning barn chickens specify that farmers should have a tumolo of built land for every 15,000 chickens. So a farm that usually houses 45,000 chickens would need three tumolo of land. "Unless there is an extraordi- nary investment in practical- ly all farms across Malta and Gozo, this law risks crippling the majority of the country's 40 chicken farms, 90 pig farms and other rabbit farms." Agius said that any market failure in the animal rearing sector would place Malta in food insecurity. "As a Maltese person I am very worried about my country ending up in a sit- uation where it does not pro- While a farmer in Poland would have to spend €15,000 to increase their farming space, a Maltese farmer looking to expand by the same amount of land would have to spend an average of €500,000, PN candidate Peter Agius has told the EC