Farmers demand government honour their contract

A group of disgruntled dairy farmers have begun legal proceedings against the government after being told that promised funds for upgrading their farms, which they were contractually entitled to, had been cut. 

The application was filed against Parliamentary secretary for Agriculture Roderick Galdes, Environment Minister Leo Brincat and Justin Zahra, Director of Agriculture.

The application explains how the farmers had applied for funds through the Dairy Restructuring Aid - Animal Housing Scheme 2002-2008, which covered up to half of expenses to develop their farms.

After their applications were accepted, they invested large sums to upgrade their farms in accordance to standards of the scheme.

The plaintiffs had invested considerable amounts in the upgrading of their facilities, but only after they had signed contracts stipulating that they would be entitled to receive up to 50% of their capital investment through the EU's Animal Housing Scheme.

After the 2013 election, however, the farmers were informed that the funds were not available and that they would receive a lesser sum. 

The sums were considerably lower than expected: one farmer who had been promised €75,700 was informed that he would now only be receiving €21,200; another, promised just under €40,000, was in fact entitled to €10,500. 

The contracts were signed in March 2013 but soon after the election, the new administration appointed a board to revise the contracts. Last November however, the producers were informed that they would be receiving much lower sums than initially agreed. 

The farmers did not accept the offer and wrote to Dr. Zahra, demanding he honour the contractual obligations. However this was in vain, leaving the farmers no option but to take the matter to court. 

Lawyers Jason Azzopardi and Kris Busietta, on behalf of the plaintiffs, requested the court declare that their fundamental human right to a fair trial had been breached, that the decision taken about the promised funds went beyond the scope of the administration's powers and that the basic principles of natural justice had not been respected.

While no damages were stipulated in the application, the farmers asked the court to order the government to honour the initial contract.