What percentage of Malta’s agricultural land is under organic cultivation?
Organic farming is an agricultural system that aims to respect natural life-cycle systems during the production of food. Between 2008 and 2009, area covered by organic farming increased by 20 per cent, covering 26.24ha of the Maltese islands in 2009. This represented approximately 0.22 per cent of total agricultural land and 0.25 per cent of Utilised Agricultural Area (UAA).
In 2009 there were 13 registered operators of organic products in the Maltese islands. It is estimated that in 2009, six per cent of the organically cultivated land was used for the production of fresh vegetables, melons and strawberries, 24 per cent for the cultivation of grapes, followed by 19 per cent for root crops and olives respectively.
For more information see The Environment Report Indicators 2009 at www.mepa.org.mt/teri2009.