6,000 plants arrive for olive tree project

The project aimed at reviving the indigenous Maltese olive tree has entered a new phase with the arrival of 6,000, two-year-old rootstock plants that will be grafted using the indigenous Bidnija variety.

The rootstock plants have been imported from the Puglia region of Italy through the Consorzio Vivaistico Pugliese.

The trees have been placed within the greenhouse of the Department of Agriculture at St Vincent de Paul in Luqa, where they are currently undergoing a period of acclimatisation prior to the grafting process which is scheduled to start over the coming days. The project, called Primo, is an environmental and afforestation initiative undertaken by Sam Cremona with the support of Bank of Valletta and the Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment.

Primo is seeking to encourage the dissemination of the indigenous Maltese olive tree with a long term view of achieving the critical mass necessary to be able to produce certified oil and related products.

The first stage of this project involved a survey to assess the interest of the general public in growing the indigenous Maltese olive trees on their land. Over 250 Maltese and Gozitan people declared an interest to collectively plant over 13,700 indigenous Maltese olive trees on their land over the next two years.