Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1538544
5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 17 AUGUST 2025 INTERVIEW The following are excerpts from the interview. The full interview can be found on maltatoday.com.mt as well as our Facebook and Spotify pages. PHOTOS: JAMES BIANCHI / MALTA TODAY Your NGO was among those that were surprised by new regulations on agricultural land. Why the surprise? We were surprised because we weren't expecting any form of action on such a sensitive issue that can impact people in a way which they don't like. So, having this law with its aim to preserve agricultural land, and the implications of it being that those whose activities can threaten agricultural land must cease doing so, we saw it as a courageous step. We were surprised and relieved that something was being done on this issue. How will this help farmers? The main aim of this law is to preserve agricultural land. We only have little of it and it's vital because it produces food. If there's something that can threaten the land's productivity, the law limits those activities, which is good. The implication that the law has is that we're beginning to control the non- agricultural use of agricultural land, which has exploded in recent years. It has exploded because there was demand for fields for recreational purposes. Families bought land to spend time together on weekends, fields are used to park caravans and yachts, or to organise parties. We're seeing phenomenal prices. European statistics show that Maltese agricultural land is the most expensive in the EU, and I would argue in the entire world. When I tell my foreign colleagues that one hectare of land costs around €1 million, they can't believe it. Why have land prices exploded? If demand increases and supply doesn't change, the price goes up. Demand increased for recreational use of land [not agricultural purposes]. The implication is that the owners of agricultural land that used to rent out fields to farmers suddenly wanted to get rid of the farmers because they found out they can sell the land for hundreds of thousands of euros. I hope this law is the beginning of controlling the non-agricultural use of land… After the proposed law was published, there were many concerns over too much government interference in private ownership. Don't you think government is meddling too much here? Not at all. I can't understand why there's this fear that government is intervening too much because it's telling you what to do with your own property. Government already tells you what to do with your property. The Planning Authority is there to tell you what to do with your property. No one just demolishes a building and constructs apartments without telling anyone. There's a process where the PA tells you what to do and what not to do… You don't tell the PA, 'This is my property I can do what I want.'. The same applies to this law, where government is trying to guide people with assets that are public goods. When you have a field, it's not the same as having a garage or an apartment. A field gives us food, and nothing else can give us food. It's in the national interest that government protects the place where food comes from… Let's change the subject. Earlier this year you spoke about the case of a field in Tal-Bebbux, where govern- ment accepted a developer's proposal to have a road built on a public field. Do you think cases like these suggest we have a problem in the way we view agricultural land? You couldn't have said it better. We have a problem in the way we look at a piece of land. We look at a field and see developable land. Yes, the country needs development, it needs to grow, but there's a limit. We can't keep sacrificing agricultural land for every project, whether capricious or not… When will we draw a line? When will we say, 'We need this land to safeguard food production'. We wouldn't even think about taking someone's workshop to build something, but land is the farmer's workshop, so we need to see it in the same light. In the same way you don't take away someone's garage to build a road or a school, we shouldn't see agricultural land as a thing to use… Don't you see a difference between a road that we don't need and a school for in- stance? At first glance it does make a difference. One is a more noble cause than the other, but taking 20 acres worth of potential to produce food is still 20 acres less output for Malta. Take a look at what geopolitical and climate problems we're seeing. Food production in countries that produce for other countries across the world is decreasing. The first thing these countries do when their production decreases is halt exports. We've already seen export bans from certain countries in recent years. We are at the mercy of these countries. If they don't have enough food, they won't send any our way. In the context of wars, trade wars, and geopolitical tensions, do we really afford sacrificing the place that gives us food? You stress that we should safeguard our food supply, but the reality is that Malta cannot be self-sufficient in this manner. So what's the point of saving every field? It's hard to be self-sufficient but we can be much more resilient. Dancing to the tune of international commerce is dangerous. During the pandemic lockdown, there were problems in the Port of Genoa, which is a source for our food and we were at the risk of having no food. We've seen the rise in food prices, and government came up with the Stabbilta scheme. We're always bobbing on the waves. If we really want stability, we have to grab the bull by the horns and see how to produce more food in Malta, protect the production of food, and educate the public to eat a Mediterranean diet and more foods produced in Malta rather than processed food.