During a plenary debate on the availability of fertilisers, Maltese MEP Josianne Cutajar highlighted the challenges that European farmers are facing at the moment and the need to prioritise affordability and flexibility in the use of fertilisers.

Cutajar highlighted that farmers in Europe are not only underpaid for their efforts, but they also struggle to produce the much-needed harvest.

The MEP emphasised the importance of reducing Europe’s reliance on third countries for fertilisers, noting also that

“European farmers expect that the environmental transformation we are ambitiously working towards, will be accompanied by investments, assistance, clear answers, and flexibility in the use of natural fertilisers like RENURE, which can, and must, accompany the road towards a more sustainable and circular economy,” she said.

Cutajar said that while agriculture has a lot of potential to become more sustainable and digital through innovation and technology, it must also become more socially sustainable by supporting and incentivising our farmers, particularly those who face disproportionately high costs, such as Maltese and Gozitan farmers coming from islands like ours.