Malta’s Labour government has taken the stick approach to non-farmers buying up farmland but leaving the land idle, an Oireachtas conference heard this week.
Ramona Attard, a member of the Mediterranean island’s parliament, told political figures from across the EU that Malta’s land reforms are intended to help farmers’ access to land.
The new laws are designed to protect farmland from degradation, ensure farming activity is carried out on agricultural land every year and to improve the viability of farming.
Attard said that they represent a “commitment to protecting agricultural land from speculation” and to “give active farmers greater security”.
The baseline level of agricultural activity needed to draw down CAP funds must be met on all farmland each year regardless of whether it is entered into CAP schemes, such as the tillage requirement that lands “must be tilled at least once a year”.
The fines for not adhering to the new land requirements are €500 to €2,500 for the first offense, rising to €1,500 to €11,000 for subsequent convictions.
SHARING OPTIONS