New agriculture lease law is in force but farmers still in the dark, PN says

The government has yet to respond to farmers' concerns, despite the fact that the agriculture leasing legislation went into effect on Wednesday.

"These concerns have a significant influence on farmers' livelihoods, as well as their capacity to continue working their fields," the PN said in a press statement on Thursday. 

According to the PN, tenants are still unsure how to calculate their land's agricultural worth, thus determining fair rent when a landlord files an appeal with the Agricultural Board.

The legislation alone does not safeguard farmers or food production, the PN argued.

"Unfortunately, four changes submitted by the Nationalist Party in a Committee Stage to modify the Law were rejected by the Government, and Robert Abela and his associates opted not to address all of these issues."

On the other hand, the Nationalist Party reaffirmed its resolve to contribute wherever required to protect the interests of farmers.

The new law was aimed to prevent agricultural leases from suffering an increase in rents equivalent to commercial.

In November, a farmer's lawyer said to MaltaToday that several farmers who face rising rents from private landowners for their agricultural leases, are still protesting the government-mandated 1.5% of the value of the land, is still too much of a rental increase for them to sustain.

Read Also: Rural lands reform: light at the end of the tunnel for Maltese farmers