Farmers have expressed grave concerns about an imported virus spreading in Malta, which threatens to decimate the all-important tomato sector.
Ruben Montebello, a full-time farmer for the past decade who left the tourism industry to work in agriculture, lost five greenhouses' worth of tomatoes due to contamination from ToBRFV (tomato brown rugose fruit virus).
The farmers' association Għaqda Bdiewa Attivi appealed to authorities to do their utmost to try to contain the virus to limit its "social damage." Although the virus is a serious threat to tomatoes and other plants in the same family, there is no evidence that it impacts human beings in any way.
The youth in agriculture foundation (MaYa foundation) argued that given the expected catering boom this summer, "growers cannot afford to miss this boat" after a year of declining sales due to the pandemic.
Read more at timesofmalta.com