Today is Census of Agriculture day. Agriculture is a traditional aspect of the Maltese identity dating back to our roots. Albeit today a relatively small contributor to the country’s output, its role transcends the purely economic. Farmers and breeders, in sustaining the rural landscape of the Maltese islands through the application of appropriate policy measures, play an important part in preserving a wholesome quality of life for Maltese citizens. In their own way they contribute to tourism, leading to growth in other economic activities. At the same time, they are also facing the changes and challenges being experienced by the European agricultural sectors, which extend also to the Mediterranean.
Agriculture in Malta has therefore evolved from the backbone of the islanders’ existence in bygone times to a number of thriving and modern industries and activities that are as essential to the building of a nation’s identity as the farming techniques of old. Agricultural industries range from the growing of arable crops, market gardening and horticulture to animal husbandry, beekeeping, the application of sophisticated farming techniques and the use of pesticides and inoculants. Enterprises in this sector include farms, dairies, hatcheries, orchards, greenhouses and nurseries.
In the coming days and weeks, all farmers and breeders in Malta and Gozo will be asked to provide a record of crops sown and harvested during the past 12 months. They will also be requested to give details on the land being farmed, its size and the use it is put to, together with a count of their livestock, any human resources employed by them in the carrying out of their business, and the machinery used during their operations. The census will also cover those involved in arable farming, or in the rearing of animals and fowl, on a part-time basis.
The census, conducted by the National Statistics Office and co-financed by the European Commission, will be the first one since Malta joined the EU, as the last exercise of this kind took place in 2001. It is being carried out in accordance with the provisions of, and regulated by, the Malta Statistics Authority Act. The census will purport to collect detailed information about the country’s agricultural sector, identifying and measuring changes that occur from time to time. Once aggregated, the updated data will enable policy makers to take timely decisions and to devise policies of benefit to the sector.
The precursor of the Census of Agriculture was the annual Agricultural Survey which, up to 1954, was managed by the Department of Agriculture under the provisions of the Agricultural Returns Ordinance of 1935. In 1955 the Agricultural Survey evolved into the Census of Agriculture, and the responsibility for its carrying out was transferred to the former Central Office of Statistics (COS). The 1956 Census of Agriculture covered the period October 1955 to September 1956. Then, as now, information was requested from farmers and breeders on land area cultivated or left fallow; crops produced; livestock; farm labour; machinery; and any other particulars related to agriculture and the rural character of Malta and Gozo. Agricultural censuses were carried out up to 1982-83, after which there was a break in the series. With the setting up of the National Statistics Office in March 2001, one of the first major operations undertaken was the Census of Agriculture in October that year.
The information submitted in the course of the census will be used internally for statistical purposes only and, as stipulated by the Malta Statistics Authority Act, will not be divulged to any individual, entity or organisation outside the NSO in any form. The outcome of the census is recorded in a publication which provides information in an aggregate form. In fact, total statistical confidentiality is observed with regard to individual returns of census information.
Therefore, the accurate and timely responses will ultimately be beneficial to the agricultural sector itself.
Efficient and effective policies are dependent on such data, ultimately ensuring a good standard of living for farmers and breeders, providing consumers with quality food, and helping to preserve the rural heritage for present and future generations.
The author is director general of the National Statistics Office.