Gozo farmers facing harsh foreign competition, need more land to keep up with demand

Farmers tell Labour MEP Alfred Sant of extreme underutilization of agricultural land in Gozo owned by the government which can be used for vine, olive and other agricultural production

- Gozitan farmers expressed their concerns with MEP Alfred Sant at Ta’ Mena Estate, Marsalforn, Gozo
- Gozitan farmers expressed their concerns with MEP Alfred Sant at Ta’ Mena Estate, Marsalforn, Gozo

Gozitan farmers who met Labour MEP Alfred Sant at the Ta’ Mena estate in the Marsalforn valley have said they are struggling with “permanent problems” in their efforts to survive.

Ta’ Mena Estate produces its own wine, cold pressed extra virgin olive oil and various typical liqueurs and foods from different fruits, vegetables and herbs, most of which are grown on their own estate.

But they told Sant they are suffering from a lack of water resources for irrigation, under-utilization and dereliction of large areas of land, fallen rubble walls and soil erosion, lack of fertiliser to properly treat, manage and use animal waste in fields, and mismatches between supply and demand “and harsh, foreign, non-level-playing-field competition.”

Sant has asked farmers for a report on which he can follow up at different levels at the European Parliament.

Joe Spiteri, on behalf of Mena Estate, expressed the concerns of Gozitan farmers involved in the cultivation of vines, olives, citrus trees, strawberries, tomatoes and other vegetables, honey and other local products.

The estate’s current challenge is of having a demand from foreign customers for wine produced at his estate. The output from his vineyards and olive groves does not meet the demand in question. “Something urgent has to be done since otherwise we will lose the opportunities which we created in recent years,” Spiteri said.

Spiteri referred to the extreme underutilization of agricultural land in Gozo owned by the government which can be utilized for vine, olive and other agricultural production. “This is translating into active farmers unable to acquire extra fields. Youths studying agriculture cannot be assigned fields of their own. Therefore they opt to seek jobs with the Agriculture Department or other office work and keep away from the actual farming jobs.

“The unutilised fields obviously give no crops and are rendering Gozo extremely dry especially during the summer months. Keeping Gozo green during the dry months will also attract more quality tourism to our island,” Spiteri said.