What percentage of Malta's agriculture land is under organic cultivation?

Organic farming is a practice that favours renewable resources and recycling, respecting natural pest and disease control, avoiding the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilisers, growth hormones, antibiotics or gene manipulations. This type of farming thus makes use of techniques that help sustain ecosystem processes.1

Organic farming is an emerging practice in the Maltese islands, where its potential has been recently recognised, and further encouraged through the Rural Development Programme.2

As of end 2007 there were 12 certified producers of organic products in the Maltese islands, covering 17.3 hectares, representing 0.17 per cent of Utilised Agricultural Area (UAA) and 0.15 per cent of total agricultural land.3

It is estimated that 40 per cent of this land is used for the production of olives, 23 per cent for the production of fruit and berries, 12 per cent for the production of vegetables, melons and strawberries and 10 per cent for the production of grapes.4

The 14 per cent decrease in organic farming between 2006 and 2007 is mainly attributed to a decrease in land used for olive plantations.

Source: Malta Standards Authority; NSO (National Statistics Office). 2006. Farm Structure Survey 2005, News Release No. 114/2006, 29 May 2006.

Environmental tip: Purchase organically-farmed products and ask your supermarket to begin providing more organic products for sale

1 http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/qual/organic/def/index_en.htm .

2 MRAE (Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment). 2007. Rural Development Programme for Malta 2007-2013, MRAE, Valletta.

3 Figure for total agricultural area has been revised and now covers 11,791 hectares. NSO (National Statistics Office). 2006. Farm Structure Survey 2005, News Release No. 114/2006, 29 May 2006.

4 Malta Standards Authority.