An overview to Maltese An overview to Maltese An overview to - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

An overview to Maltese An overview to Maltese An overview to Maltese An overview to Maltese Agriculture Agriculture

Agriculture characteristics

Small holdings Limited resources and Land Fragmentation.

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• Utilisable agricultural area 11,689Ha
• ±75% of agricultural holdings <1Ha

Number of holdings is 12,466

Maltese agriculture in figures

• Number of holdings is 12,466
• 5,000Ha are sown annually in fodder

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Maltese agriculture in figures

• 100 pig farms, ±3,300sows, average 34

sows/farm.

• 100 dairy cow farms, ±6,900cows, average 70

cows/farm

• 590 ovi-caprine units having ≥5heads with a

total of ±16,000 heads

• 30 layer farms, rearing up to 300,000 birds
• 60 broiler farms, slaughtered annually up to

2,230,000 birds

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Strengths of the Maltese agriculture

• Historically mild climatic conditions that permit

multiple cropping multiple cropping

• CAP assistance provides solidarity to

agricultural operators

• Generally all sectors have a short supply chain
• Quality schemes are gaining momentum

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Strengths in the Maltese agriculture.

RDP measures promote sector innovation and modernisation

• Measure 1 – Knowledge transfer and information

actions actions

• Measure 2 – Advisory services, farm management and

farm relief services

• Measure 3 – Quality schemes for agricultural products

and foodstuffs

• Measure 4 – Investments in physical assets
• Measure 6 – Farm and business development

Sub-measure 6.1 – business start-up aid for young farmers

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Opportunities in Maltese Agriculture

Direct Payments – Basic Payment – Greening Payment – Greening Payment – Priority to young farmers – Voluntary Coupled Support

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Challenges – Small size

• Lack economies of scale
• Reliance on the importation of raw materials
• Impaired export potential in lieu of the islands
• Impaired export potential in lieu of the islands

insularity

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Challenges - Land fragmentation

• High opportunity cost for agricultural land
• Tenureship issues leading to financial

limitations

• Inaccessibility of parcels
• Inaccessibility of parcels
• Livestock farms with no farmland

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Challenges – Limited resources

• Ageing farming population
• Resistance by the older generation to; hand
• ver their hard earned business; accept
• ver their hard earned business; accept

innovative methods

• Land abandonment especially in inaccessible

areas

• Difficulty for new entrants to join the sector

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Challenges – Limited resources

• Limited Water resources
• Reliance on ground water
• The acceptance of alternative water sources
• The acceptance of alternative water sources
• Soil characteristics

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Emerging challenges Emerging challenges

• The effects of Climate Change
• Higher incidence of torrential rain followed by

extended rain-less periods extended rain-less periods

• Milder yet damper winters
• Pests and disease are getting more resistant
• No crop and livestock insurance is currently

available.

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Challenges encountered by agriculture operators in the Maltese islands.

• Sector is primarily focused to meet the

demand and supply of fresh produce demand and supply of fresh produce

• Safety net mechanisms are most of the time

impractical in the local context

• Resistance by some sectors to join in a PO or

a cooperative

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Way forward

• The updating of the national agricultural policy
• Special focus on quality schemes
• The re-opening of effective extension services
• Investment in market research
• Investment in market research
• More effort to promote land consolidation
• Emphasis on knowledge transfer and sharing

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Thanks for your attention.

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