Maltese Farming Update

In my last cultural blog I discussed the state of Maltese agriculture with respect to the water situation on Malta. In this entry I plan to address my latest research on Maltese agriculture, organic farming. I have come to the conclusion over the past two weeks that organic farming has not taken off in Malta to the degree that was desired by either the government or the organic activist groups.

Let me begin by defining organic farming compared to normal farming. The first important distinction is that organic farming requires that crops be rotated every year. This is due to the fact that different plant families add and remove different nutrients from the soil. Rotating crops allows soil nutrients to be replenished between years.
The second important distinction is that organic farming requires farmers to use non-chemical insect controls and fertilizers. Insect control may include "friendly" insects and insect repelling plants. Farmers may only choose to use organic fertilizers such as plant compost or manure from organically raised animals.
The third and final distinction is the fact that farmers may not use any genetically modified organisms (GMOs). That is, farmers can grow any variety of plant that has not been genetically tampered with by humans.

The importance of organic farming was highlighted by the Government in the National Climate Change Adaption Strategy report in 2010. They recommend the use of organic farming methods primarily to help stop soil erosion, decline in soil organic matter, and soil contamination. They also stated that organic farming should be encouraged because of its environmental benefits and biodiversity benefits.

Unfortunately, before 2003, there was no way for organic farming to take place on Malta. No governmental bodies existed to approve organic farming methods or organic produce. As a result of this the Ministry for Rural Affairs was tasked with setting up the Organic Farming Unit, which is solely concerned with promoting, certifying, and inspecting organic farming in Malta.

A number of activist groups have cropped up in Malta to support the organic movement as a way to combat global warming. Perhaps the biggest of these groups is the Maltese Organic Agriculture Movement (MOAM). The group lists a number of reasons that all Maltese farmers should choose organic farming including economics and water supplies. Their argument for economics is that while Maltese farmers cannot out produce farmers in larger countries like Spain they can produce better products and charge more for them. For water, the MOAM argues that organic farming methods encourage good soil development and soil retention. Good soil is able to retain water much better than arid or sandy soil. So, in the end, less water will be needed on organic farms.

Reports from the Organic Farming Unit indicate that, in 2004, 20 farms were in the process of converting to organic farming. This accounts for 0.09% of the total agricultural land in Malta. However, even by 2010, only 0.19% of the total agricultural land was being used for organic farming. This represents a little more than a doubling of interest in organic farming over a 6 year period. While this shows growth, it is not substantial growth.

So, organic farming is moving forward but is off to a slow start. A professor at the University of Malta suggests that farmers are afraid to trust their crops to purely organic farming methods. It could also be the case that because 98% of farms in Malta are family owned and only 3.8% of farmers have training in farming methods, farmers are not willing to experiment with new farming methods. Both of these are potential reasons for farmer's lack of interest in organic farming, but there is doubtlessly more information that I have yet to find.