[WATCH] ‘No Farmers, No Food, No Future’: Farmers take their tractors to the streets again

Tractors from all corners of Malta descended upon Ta' Qali on Thursday morning for a second protest drive to Valletta.

Adorned with Maltese flags and carrying placards with slogans like 'Take care of us or you'll go hungry' and 'Farmers gone? Eat your money', the convoy of tractors made its presence known as it embarked on its journey towards the capital.

The farmers drove their tractors through Central Link, the Mrieħel bypass, Marsa-Ħamrun bypass and Marsa Junction.

When they reached the offices of the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (MCCAA), a group of farmers taped signs bearing slogans like "we are here to safeguard our food" and "no farmers, no food, no future" onto the MCCAA's doors.

The MCCAA is tasked with overseeing pesticide and fertiliser levels in local agricultural products. However, farmers say the authority should conduct the same checks on foreign, particularly non-EU, products.

Għaqda Bdiewa Attivi, which organised the rally, said it is protesting to highlight a range of EU frameworks and plans they say are impinging on local farmers’ ability to ensure a decent living.

The group is also making several proposals to the government to help alleviate the impact of these EU regulations. Their proposals include identifying which non-EU contries are the biggest exporters of food products to Malta, and to ensure that these food products are subject to more stringent sampling and analyses.

The group is also proposing a subsidy on fertilisers and financial assistance to local fodder products. It also proposed financial assistance to local farmers’ to cover the feed import costs, including shipping and storage costs, when these exceed those of major competitors.

The group also argued that Malta should not adopt any EU regulations seeking an increase in fellow land or that would influence the operations or profits of agricultural enterprises, unless the farming community is given proof of the regulations’ negligible impact.

This is the second such convoy organised by farmers in Malta, in protest of the EU’s farming legislation.

The first rally saw Maltese farmers join Europe-wide protests against EU plans they say will threaten the livelihoods of farmers. They also voiced their concerns on how the sector is being ignored by the political class. 

Agriculture minister Anton Refalo, together with Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries Alicia Bugeja Said, were spotted at the Valletta waterfront where the farmers' rally will end. 

Opposition leader Bernard Grech was also spotted speaking with the farmers in Valletta.