National Agricultural Policy for the Maltese Islands 2018 – 2028
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National Agricultural Policy for the Maltese Islands 2018 – 2028 Final Report prepared for the Ministry for the Environment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change February 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS i. Executive Summary 5 ii. Abbreviations and acronyms 6 1. Introduction 7 1.01 Scope 1.02 Methodology 9 1.02.01 Strategic objectives 10 1.02.02 Issues paper 11 1.02.03 Stakeholder involvement 12 1.02.04 Analytical process 13 1.02.05 Operational objectives and policy measures 14 1.02.06 Policy implementation 15 2. Situation analysis 22 2.01 Agriculture in the Maltese Islands 22 2.02 Constraints 28 2.02.01 Economic 28 2.02.02 Social 30 2.02.03 Policy 31 2.02.04 Environmental 31 2.03 Crop production 34 2.03.01 Fruit and vegetables 40 2.03.02 Viticulture 45 2.03.03 Tomatoes for processing 49 2.03.04 Potatoes 51 2.03.05 Olive cultivation 53 2.03.06 Controlled cropping 56 2.03.07 Hydroponics and aquaponics 57 2.03.08 Organic farming 58 2.03.09 Cereals and legumes 59 2.03.10 Amenity horticulture 60 2.03.11 Agricultural services 61 2.04 Livestock production 63 2.04.01 Cattle 67 2.04.02 Swine 70 2.04.03 Poultry 73 2.04.04 Sheep 75 2.04.05 Goats 77 2.04.06 Rabbits 79 2.04.07 Bees 80 2.04.08 Others 82 2.05 Agro processing industry 83 2.06 Rural development 87 2.07 Education, research and development 89 2 3. Analytical Process 92 3.01 Rationale 92 3.02 Horizontal issues 93 3.02.01 Ensuring adequate farm income levels 94 3.02.02 Improving agricultural competitiveness 94 3.02.03 Involving the private sector 94 3.02.04 Addressing consumer demands 94 3.02.05 Other positive externalities 95 3.02.06 Safeguarding the environment and biodiversity 95 3.02.07 Combining agriculture with rural development 95 3.02.08 Addressing heterogeneity 96 3.02.09 Targeting the active farming community 96 3.02.10 Retrieving information from stakeholders 96 3.02.11 Reducing bureaucracy and implementation costs 97 3.02.12 Educating and up skilling farmers and farm managers 97 3.03 SWOT analysis by objective 99 3.04 Detailed SWOT analysis by area 100 3.04.01 Food presentation, labelling and traceability 101 3.04.01.1 Fruit and Vegetables – Pitkali Markets 103 3.04.01.2 Fruit and Vegetables – Farmers markets 105 3.04.01.3 Viticulture 107 3.04.01.4 Tomatoes for processing 108 3.04.01.5 Potatoes 110 3.04.01.6 Olive oil production 111 3.04.01.7 Fertiliser and pesticide application 113 3.04.01.8 Dairy 115 3.04.01.9 Beef 117 3.04.01.10 Swine 118 3.04.01.11 Broilers 121 3.04.01.12 Egg production 123 3.04.01.13 Sheep and goats 125 3.04.01.14 Rabbits 127 3.04.01.15 Honey production 128 3.04.01.16 Key marketing perspective 129 3.04.02 Consolidation of land holdings 131 3.04.02.1 Agricultural leases 133 3.04.02.2 Farmer benchmarking 135 3.04.02.3 Agricultural Land Scheme 137 3.04.02.4 Land degradation 138 3.04.02.5 Fodder crop production 139 3.04.02.6 Farms on Government land 140 3.04.02.7 Livestock breeder benchmarking 141 3.04.02.8 Fodder crop demand 142 3.04.03 Sustaining water and key resources 143 3.04.03.1 Water supply 145 3.04.03.2 Rainwater harvesting 148 3.04.03.3 Groundwater abstraction 150 3.04.03.4 New water 153 3.04.03.5 Nitrates 155 3.04.03.6 Intensive farming 157 3.04.03.7 Soil conservation 160 3.04.03.8 Ecosystem services 162 3 3.04.04 Competitiveness and diversification 164 3.04.04.1 Demographics 166 3.04.04.2 Farming skills 168 3.04.04.3 Capital investment 170 3.04.04.4 Profitability 172 3.04.04.5 Working conditions 174 3.04.04.6 Planning permits 175 3.04.04.7 Cooperation 177 3.04.04.8 Production targets 179 3.04.04.9 Niche markets 180 3.04.04.10 Tourism 182 3.04.04.11 Organic farming 184 3.04.04.12 Access to finance 186 3.04.05 Adaptation to and mitigation of geo-climatic conditions 188 3.04.05.1 Seasonal changes 190 3.04.05.2 Severe weather conditions 192 3.04.05.3 Adaptation and mitigation strategies 193 3.04.05.4 Renewable energy 195 3.04.05.5 Carbon sinks 197 3.04.05.6 Risk insurance 199 3.04.06 Research and development 201 3.04.06.1 Higher educational institutions 203 3.04.06.2 Research and innovation 206 3.04.06.3 Idea incubators and product development 210 3.04.06.4 Smart agriculture and IT development 213 3.04.06.5 Internationalisation 216 3.04.06.6 Extension Services 218 4. Operational Objectives and Policy Measures 221 4.01 Way forward 221 4.01.01 Economic Objectives 224 4.01.02 Social Regeneration 232 4.01.03 Resources 238 4.01.04 Governance 248 5. Implementation 259 5.01 Action plan 259 5.02 Responsible entities 270 6. Conclusion 298 References 299 4 i. Executive Summary A comprehensive Agricultural Policy for the Maltese Islands was requested by various stakeholders in order to provide a strategic national direction for this dynamic sector. The agricultural sector in the Maltese Islands has been significantly re-shaped following Malta’s accession to the European Union and changes throughout its various facets are still ongoing. Thus, this ten-year policy is intended to steer the agricultural sector into a more sustainable direction by providing the means along which it can develop and flourish, whilst remaining within the parameters of the Common Agricultural Policy and other pertinent regulations. This policy document builds on the findings of a strategic review on the agricultural sector entitled ‘Towards a new agricultural policy for Malta’ that was carried out in 2013, which focused on a detailed economic analysis of the existing data as well as the involvement of key sector and government representatives. The outcome of this review included the current state and future potential of the agricultural sector in Malta and was presented in 2014. Following this sector review, the Directorate of Agriculture sub-contracted the development of a ten-year Agricultural Policy for the Maltese Islands to a firm of consultants with the scope of liaising with pertinent public and private stakeholders with a view to identify the most salient issues which require policy intervention. These consultants analysed all the relevant issues in line with new developments and trends in the agricultural sector (both in Malta and abroad), to develop a range of policy measures aimed at reviving agriculture in the Maltese Islands over the next decade. The Agricultural Policy for the Maltese Islands 2018-2028 is intended to provide a clear direction to all relevant stakeholders ranging from public entities involved with certification, permitting and decision making to private entities directly involved in the agricultural scenario who intend to invest or diversify their business. As the overarching objective for this Agricultural Policy, a ‘vision’ for the Maltese agriculture sector was identified and agreed between government entities, representatives of the private sector and the farming community. This vision entailed the development of a policy that targets the following critical targets: A. Increasing the competitiveness of active farmers and livestock breeders by focusing on quality and embracing diversification; B. Facilitating the entry of young farmers by creating a cost-effective agri-business sector; C. Fostering sustainability of farming activities by adapting to the local geo-climatic conditions; D. Ensuring that farmland is managed by genuine farmers for agricultural purposes and related activities. Following a wide consultation process, the consultants identified six (6) strategic policy objectives which stood as the basis for a comprehensive evaluation process and the development of policy measures for the upcoming decade. These strategic policy objectives include 1) Food presentation, labelling and traceability; 2) Consolidation of land holdings; 3) Sustaining water and key resources; 4) Competitiveness and diversification, 5) Adaptation to and mitigation of geo-climatic conditions and 6) Research and development. This policy document presents a total of seventy (70) policy measures organised in four (4) sets of operational objectives, namely a) Economic objectives, b) Social regeneration, c) Resources and d) Governance. 5 ii. Abbreviations and acronyms ARPA Agriculture and Rural Payments Agency AWU Annual Working Unit CAP Common Agricultural Policy CN Code Combined Nomenclature code COGAP Code of Good Agricultural Practices DNO Development Notification Order DOK Denominazzjoni ta’ Oriġini Kontrollata EAFRD European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development EC European Commission EU European Union FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation GAB Governance of Agricultural Bioresources Agency GDP Gross Domestic Product GNB Gross Nitrogen Balance HACCP Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points HEI Higher educational institutions IACS Integrated Administration and Control System ICT Information and Communication Technology I.Ġ.T. Identifikazzjoni Ġeografika Tipika IPM Integrated Pest Management IT Information Technology L.N. Legal Notice LULUCF Land use, Land-use Change and Forestry MCAST Malta College of Arts Science and Technology MCCAA Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority MEDE Ministry for Education and Employment MEPA Malta Environment and Planning Authority MESDC Ministry for the Environment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change NAP Nitrates Actions Programme NSO National Statistics Office ODZ Outside Development Zone PDO Protected Denomination of Origin PQ Parliamentary Question PV Photovoltaic RES Renewable Energy Sources R&D Research and Development R&I Research and Innovation RDP Rural Development Programme SEWCU Sustainable Energy, Water and Conservation Unit S.L.