Friends of the Earth Malta shows its solidarity with the farmers who are protesting en masse and making their way towards Valletta.

As an organisation which champions social justice and environmental values, we are showing our full solidarity with farmers protest in Malta and other EU countries.

We hear the frustrations of farmers who grapple with low incomes, a lack of prospects, and consequences of decades of unsustainable policies, coupled with the prohibitive costs of the ever shrinking agricultural land in Malta. We share their fight for a fairer agriculture system and their call for abolishing the EU-Mercosur trade deal.

The anger of many farmers is legitimate. But after years of it being ignored by political leaders, it is now dangerously being exploited by populist parties and agro-industrial lobbies trying to shatter green objectives and commitments.

Environmental legislation is not the enemy; denying the realities of the climate and biodiversity crises will only intensify the challenges farmers face, from heatwaves to floods and droughts. The next European Commission needs to steer the transition of our agricultural and food systems in a fair, just, climate-friendly way.