the maltese islands2 the maltese islands malta, gozo and comino, together with a few other smaller,...
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The Maltese Islands
Malta, Gozo and Comino,
together with a few other
smaller, unpopulated islands
make up the Maltese
Archipelago. Together these
islands have a combined
surface area of 315.59 km²
(NSO, 2007). The current
population of Malta stands at
a total of 417,617 people
(NSO, 2011).
Climate
Malta enjoys a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers
and mild, wet winters. The average annual rainfall for the
Maltese Islands is 560mm of which 86% falls between October
and March. The other six months suffer from intense drought
with the driest month being June. Episodes of torrential rainfalls
are also very common.
The most common winds are the north-west and north-east
winds. Over the last century the mean sunshine hours averaged
eight per day with July having the highest number of sunshine
hours. Humidity rates are high averaging between 65% to 80%
(Lanfranco, 2003).
Agriculture in Malta
Malta's agricultural sector is quite small, accounting for 1.62%
of the GDP (NSO, 2010). About 35% of the island's territory,
approximately 11,000 hectares, is utilised for agricultural
purposes as shown in Table 1 below. Maltese agriculture is
composed of small-scale farmers who sell most of their produce
locally. Over the years, farming activities have changed
becoming more intensive and considerably increasing the
amount of irrigated land. Irrigation continued to escalate further
after Malta joined the European Union (EU) in 2004. This has
created a huge demand on all water resources in the Maltese
Islands.
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District Total >0 - <0.5 0.5 - <1 1 - <2 2 - <5 5 - <10 ≥10
Maltese
Islands 11452.8 1491.9 1813.6 2666.8 3286.6 1540.2 653.7
Malta 8839.9 1163.9 1441.2 2100.6 2635.6 1136.7 362
Southern Harbour 724 128 145 184.8 190.2 36.4 39.6
Northern Harbour 552 103.4 118.7 131.2 123.2 33.7 41.8
South Eastern 1892.9 352.4 406.9 477 481.1 137 38.5
Western 2852.1 335.6 454.6 717.1 935.2 299.6 110
Northern 2818.8 244.4 316 590.5 905.9 629.9 132.1
Gozo & Comino 2612.9 328.1 372.5 566.3 651 403.5 291.7
Table 1: Utilised agricultural area (in hectares) by district size class (NSO, 2012)
Local agriculture is characterised by few full-timers amounting
to only 10.3% or 1,763 farmers out of a total of 17,148 persons
gainfully engaged in agriculture (NSO, 2008). The main crops
which are grown include potatoes, onions, beans, grapes and
forage production.
In fact, the volume of production of potatoes,
tomatoes and forage accounts to 54.3% of all
production. (NSO, 2005). The livestock sector, on the
other hand consists mainly of cattle, swine, poultry,
sheep and goats. As shown in Table 2 below, the
majority of animal farms are very small with a greater
proportion of farms having very small herds.
Like other European countries, Malta suffers from an ageing
farming population. For every local farmer under 35 years of
age, there are about 10 farmers aged 55 years and over. In
addition, the majority of farmers do not possess a formal
educational background.
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Table 2: Livestock Breeding in Malta (NSO, 2010 & 2011)
Maltese Landscape
Malta's landscapes can basically be split up into two main
categories: semi-natural landscapes where human
interference is very minimal and hardly noticeable; and man-
made landscapes where men's interference is quite clear and
can easily be noticed. The most common examples are the
terraced fields on sloping land. Terracing is done to reduce soil
erosion and to make the most of the available land in order to
create more space for the cultivation of crops.
Picture 1: An arial view of local fields
The semi-natural landscapes are mainly made up of bare sea-
cliffs, marsh, garigue, woodland, blue clay slopes, blue clay
spring line, and blown sand. The man-made landscapes can be
split up into moderate or steep terraces on blue clay; shallow,
moderate or steep terraces on coralline limestone; shallow,
moderate or steep terraces on globegerina limestone; valley fill
and terraced blown sand (Ministry of Resources and Rural
Affairs, August 2011).
Sheep Goats Cattle Pigs Poultry
Number of livestock 11,887 4,938 15,688 70,593 970,291
Number of holdings 1,374 846 291 132 765
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There are seven significant reference groups of soil in the
Maltese Islands, these include: Calcisols, Leptosols, Vertisols,
Luvisols, Cambisols, Regosols and Arenosols. Maltese soils
have slightly to moderate alkaline levels, with a pH ranging from
7.3 to 8.5 (Ministry of Resources and Rural Affairs, 2004).
The Problem of Water Scarcity
Malta is noted to be among the driest countries worldwide. As a
result of its Mediterranean climate, Malta has a significant water
problem. The islands contain about 40 cubic meters of naturally
occurring freshwater per capita. This puts Malta amongst the
world’s top ten water scarce countries (Water Scarcity [online]).
Groundwater is the only natural water resource available and is
used for nearly all agricultural production and makes up
approximately half of the drinking water supply.
Nearly all of Malta’s natural freshwater is stored in underground
aquifers. It takes decades for this water to be replaced as it
relies mostly on rainwater for replenishment.
Approximately 23 million cubic meters of groundwater can be
extracted and made available for human use. However, this
limit is usually exceeded and it is believed that around 34
million cubic meters are currently being extracted. This is of
great concern since over-extraction ultimately decreases the
quality of the groundwater (Groundwater Status [online]).
Furthermore, consumption of water in the Maltese Islands is
rapidly increasing. Consequently, Malta has had to convert to
the use of three Reverse Osmosis plants, located in Pembroke,
êirkewwa and Għar Lapsi, to meet the ever increasing
demands on water consumption which is estimated to be at
around 65 million cubic meters per annum. This figure includes
the demand from domestic, agricultural and other various
sectors (Water Scarcity [online]). In the case of agriculture,
approximately 3,500 hectares of agricultural land is under
irrigation as shown in Table 3 below. There are three main
sources of irrigation water in Malta these are; storm and
rainwater, that is collected in underground cisterns or surface
resevoirs; extraction of groundwater through the use of
boreholes; and treated sewage effluent.
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Table 3: Distribution of irrigated area (in hectares) by type and district (NSO, 2012)
This clearly shows that there is a considerable difference
between the amount of water available and the amount of water
consumed. Another major problem for Malta’s groundwater is
that it is also under threat by the large amounts of fertilisers
applied to agricultural land. Nitrates from fertilisers are being
washed down into the aquifers.
Between the excessive amounts of nitrates and the increasing
levels of salinity, the water in 90% of Malta’s aquifers is not up
to the required Maltese and EU standards for safe drinking
water (Groundwater Status [online]). In fact, the Water
Catchment Management Plan drawn up by the Water
Framework Directive (2000/60/EC), reports a total of 13 out of
15 groundwater bodies as being heavily polluted by nitrates.
Other forms of pollution which also effect ground and surface
water include; waste water discharge, sewage leakages and
discharge from various industries. According to scientific sudies,
the increased levels of nitrate pollution in groundwater is due to
the excessive use of natural and artificial fertilizers in arable
agricultural practices (Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs,
2011).
District Total Potatoes Flowers & seeds Vegetables Kitchen
Gardens
Fruit & Berry Plantations
Citrus Plantations Olive groves Vineyards
MALTA 3498.4 631.9 65.5 1357.1 586.5 228.1 103.5 93.6 432
Malta 3003.2 592.8 63.9 1143.5 500.5 212.6 49.7 76.7 363.4
Southern Harbour 305.1 127 6.8 58.3 55.9 6.3 5 6.6 39.3
Northern Harbour 177.6 27.3 13.2 46.9 44 8.9 5.5 15.1 16.8
South Eastern 496 195.2 7.7 76.4 146.8 6.6 2.4 12.9 48.1
Western 1013.6 147.8 19.9 385.3 137.6 122.9 30.3 20.7 149
Northern 1010.8 95.5 16.3 576.6 116.1 68.1 6.4 21.5 110.2
Gozo & Comino 495.2 39.1 1.6 213.7 86.1 15.5 53.8 16.9 68.6
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InfoNitrates Life+ Project
A report conducted in 2001 recommended that all of the
Maltese Islands be considered a Nitrates Vulnerable Zone.
In another study, conducted by the National Statistics Office, the
Gross Nitrogen Balance (GNB) for Malta in 2007 was calculated
to be 117 kg/N/ha when the average GNB for Europe is
47kg/N/ha. This clearly shows that the nitrate levels in Malta are
around two and a half times the average Gross Nitrogen
Balance levels within Member States (NSO, 2008).
In view of all this, the Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs
will be launching an information and communications campaign
for the proper use and management of nitrates in agriculture
and livestock breeding (InfoNitrates). This campaign, financed
under the European LIFE+ financial instruments, aims to assist
local farmers and livestock breeders to comply with the
obligations of the Nitrates Directive and the National Nitrates
Action Plan. Through this informative campaign, farmers and
livestock breeders will be informed on how to change or alter
their farming practices so that nitrogen levels in soil are
reduced.
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Specifically the project’s objectives are:
1. To assist farmers and livestock breeders to comply with
the obligations of the Nitrates Directive.
2. To make farmers and their households aware of the
harmful effects on health of excessive application of
nitrogen that contaminate groundwater resources.
3. To make livestock breeders and their households aware
of the harmful effects on health of improper
management of animal manure that contributes to
contamination of groundwater resources.
4. To train farmers in changing their farming practices so
that nitrogen levels in soil are reduced through the
correct application of nitrogenous fertilisers.
5. To train livestock breeders in the proper management
of animal manure so that nitrogen levels in soil are
reduced.
Over the course of the campaign, all 849 full-time farmers and
all 1,739 part-time farmers who hold more than 1.5 hectares of
land will be receiving individual training. During these training
sessions the farmers will be provided with soil analysis kits and
will be given training on how to use them. In order to reach all
farmers, there will be people available at the wholesale
vegetable and fruit market at Ta' Qali in order to assist farmers
with any queries they might have in relation to the Nitrates
Action Plan. There will also be scientific officers working at the
Plant Health Directorate, who will be carrying out soil analysis
for an additional 3,000 farmers.
Training sessions are also going to be held with all the 925
livestock breeders to communicate effectively the key
information messages of the campaign so that the project's
objectives are achieved.
Additionally, a number of village meetings have been planned.
These aim to give the opportunity to farmers and livestock
breeders to exchange their views, ask questions, and obtain
further information. These village meetings will be taking place
in different localities around Malta and Gozo.
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Informative brochures and DVDs containing a detailed
explanation of the obligatory measures that lie within the
Nitrates Action Programme will be distributed to all farmers and
livestock breeders.
The campaign is designed to bring a change in
how farmers and livestock breeders carry out their
agricultural practices so as to reduce the nitrogen
levels in the soil and groundwater.
References
Attard, G. & Azzopardi, E. (2005). An Overview of Irrigation System Performance in the Island of Malta. In Lamaddalena, N., Lebdi, F., Todorovic, M., & Bogliotti, M. (Eds.), Options Méditerranéennes, Séries B n. 52: Irrigation Systems Performance, Proceedings of 2 nd WASAMED (WAter SAving in MEDiterranean agriculture) Workshop, Hammamet (Tunisia), 24-28 June 2004 (pp.165-173). Bari, Italy: CIHEAM Groundwater Status. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.investinginwater.org/Water+Scarcity/Groundwater+Status/590 Lanfranco, S. (2003). Il-Kullana: Il-Flora Maltija. Pieta, Malta: PIN National Soil Unit, Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment. (2004). MALSIS (Maltese Soil Information System). Floriana, Malta: Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment. National Statistics Office. (2008). Farm Structure Survey 2007. Valletta, Malta: National Statistics Office National Statistics Office. (2010). News release 043/2010: Gross domestic product for 2009. Valletta, Malta: National Statistics Office National Statistics Office. (2011). Sheep and Goats Survey. Valletta, Malta: National Statistics Office National Statistics Office. (2012). Census of Agriculture 2010. Valletta, Malta: National Statistics Office. Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs. (2011). Nitrates action programme (August 2011 ed.). Floriana, Malta: Water Scarcity. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.investinginwater.org/Water+Scarcity/