Malta’s misfiring of Organic Food Action Plan

Back in 2017, the Maltese presidency of the EU was given a very positive 8/10 for how “its plucky diplomats successfully steered tortured negotiations on organic food to their conclusion, a task that defeated other governments”. Those new rule changes were to signify a new ambition to farm more sustainably with nature, rather than doubling down on expensive and harmful chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

That ambition was given form much later, with the launch of Malta’s first Action Plan for Organic Food 2023-2030. The agriculture minister described sustainable practices in the food system as ‘critical’ and ‘crucial’.

The newly-appointed ambassador for organic and sustainable food described this plan as “a gift to consumers who demand access to food that is free from unwanted substances”. The plan set a target to turn the pitiful 0.6% of agricultural land under organic production (just 67 hectares) to 5%. Between EU and national funds, a sum of €5.3 million was reserved for such goals.

Fast-forward just two years and the European Commission publishes the results for the progress on the CAP strategic plan measures on which achieving these targets hinges upon. For Malta, the number of hectares being supported are a mere 11 (about 98 tumoli) and the amount spent of the planned €5.3 million is just €34,650. This means only 2% progress was achieved by the end of 2024, and it’s difficult for even the greatest optimists to envisage what has to happen to turn this situation around.

Of course, as is normal with the present government, the media appearances and promotion efforts by the bureaucrats to advance the situation were not lacking. If a bill were drawn up for branding, events and sponsored content costs, it would, in all likelihood look like the elephant that has given birth to a mouse.

Now, the original tune being sung has changed subtly but significantly: The ambassador went from a clear sponsored message that emphasised ‘the time to do organic farming is now’ two years ago, to a very weak ‘satisfied with farmers who are not certified as organic, but decide not to use pesticides or artificial fertilisers, and should therefore still have the opportunity to market their produce as more sustainable’. And this barely nine months after the farmer protests of 2024.

It may seem inconsequential, but what this signifies is a shift away from that certification that would have given consumers the certainty, or as the action plan had put it, ‘the gift’ of consuming organic produce. It would seem that gifts in ink are easily given but also easily withdrawn.

And yet no explanations about the state of implementation of the original action plan have been given. One is hard pressed to find any progress report coming from the Maltese authorities, and indeed were the European Commission not obliged to publish results about EU spending as demanded by its transparency rules, we wouldn’t even know the little we do.

The European Commission has this week closed a public consultation on its plans to make targeted updates and to simplify rules for organic food production, with nearly 700 responses flowing in from all over the continent. It would have been a great opportunity for Maltese stakeholders to put across any rule changes or barriers originating from Brussels or how to fix them, but no responses arrived from Malta. For our inept government, it is almost as though the action plan did not exist.

And yet there are still five years to go and plenty that could be done, with the right will. If the ministry has thrown in the towel on its organic ambitions, then it should make a course correction and be honest enough with all of us, and with the farming community in particular, by declaring publicly its change in direction.

That would mean looking more seriously than ever before at whether Maltese consumers are truly being offered the same standards as their counterparts in other EU countries when it comes to food on store shelves. The time for transparency is now.

In the meantime, the sure thing is that Maltese agricultural land is being gobbled up at phenomenal speed not only by greedy developers who are cementifying whatever they find in front of them but also by the recent tragic toxic scrapyard fires, that are polluting the nearby soil, if not also the water table.

We must not give up. Organic farming is an essential part of a healthy life. And we at Momentum will continue fighting for it.