Sun and Capers

Sun & Capers

Malta is the smallest EU country

by Petra Jacob

The Republic of Malta is only 316 km² – the smallest country in the EU and consists of the three inhabited islands: Malta, Gozo and Comino The archipelago is located about 90 km south of the Italian island of Sicily.

The early morning arrival by boat in the Grand Harbour of Valletta is highly recommended with the old walls shimmering honey yellow in the morning sun Valletta was founded in the 16th century by knights of the Order of Malta as the first city in Europe The harbour is one of the largest and deepest natural harbours in Europe and on the

UNESCO World Heritage List

Covering only one square kilometer, it is also the smallest capital in the world

The sun is shining, as it is on 300 more days a year In summer 12 hours a day, in winter up to six. Malta's climate is strongly influenced by the sea. Winters are mild, summers hot and dry, temperatures are often tempered by a cooling sea breeze Holiday weather almost all year round makes this island very attractive According to official figures, before the Corona pandemic, around 3 2 million visitors flocked to the country in 2018 Within ten years, the number of visitors had almost doubled!

The tourism industry is one of the most important sources of income for the Maltese economy, along with the financial and construction sectors and the manufacturing industry, accounting for almost 13% of GDP Agriculture, on the other hand, accounts for less than 2%

With annual rainfall of only about 500 mm and without proper rivers and lakes, Malta is extremely arid. "Water scarcity is a major problem for agriculture," confirms Maltese agronomist and agricultural journalist Jeanette Borg In addition, the island of Malta in particular is very urbanized, and as a country with the highest population density in the EU

In Gozo, agriculture plays a more important role, because larger underground water resources can be used But with over half a million inhabitants and several million holidaymakers every year, Malta is dependent on food imports Most of the food comes from Italy, but also from Spain, Tunisia and Egypt

The most important relocation for Maltese agricultural products happens at the wholesale market of Pitkali, about 10 km inland from Valletta The market is state-owned, where farmers and gardeners sell their goods to the Malta Food Agency or the FCCS, an agricultural cooperative The products are then sold on to retailers and supermarkets Just minutes away from Pitkali, the farmer's market of Ta' Qali takes place In a dusty parking lot, it is an unsightly collection of battered vans and simple market stalls The goods are available in plastic containers and cardboard boxes: fruit, vegetables, chestnuts, grapes, brandies, honey, cheese, meat and bread. To protect against the intense sunlight, some of the stands are covered with canvas tarpaulin It is 11 o'clock in the morning, a considerable part of the vegetables and fruits are already in bad shape, they are withered, dusty and dented The customers don't seem to mind, everything that is available here is produced exclusively in Malta and that is what counts

Fresh and inviting look the goods Lucija Borg's has on offer She stands a little apart; she has set up a folding table in front of her car, on which a lot of greenery is laid out On her apron and on a sign on the roof of the car is written "Gozo Asparagus " The name already reveals that asparagus from the neighbouring island of Gozo is sold here: the 450-gram bundle of thin spears for €5.50, the thicker bundle for €6.50. The green asparagus were freshly harvested the day before Asparagus season in Gozo is twice a year, in spring from March to May and in autumn from September to October, she shares with her customers

"Gozo Asparagus" is a family business, at peak times everyone helps, her husband Joseph, daughter Loraine and sons Anthony and Emmanuel On just under half a hectare on the outskirts of Xaghra overlooking the bay of Ramla, they grow "a little bit of everything," as she says, also for their own use This morning on offer are olives, squash, very large garlic cloves and many different vegetables and herbs The week before they had fresh chard and yellow cherry tomatoes, she says The products are produced without chemical additives. Lucija Borg got up at 4 o'clock in the morning, because it takes her two hours to come from Gozo, with a ferry invovlved She will stay here, until everything is sold, she says

About 2 km away as the crow flies, on the horizon behind the stalls the foothills of the Dingli plateau is the silhouette of Mdina (left) Its origins date back to Bronze Age The Romans had built a strong fortress wall around Mdina and neighboring Rabat, which from afar is very reminiscent of Jerusalem's old town

Meridiana is Malta's flagship winery and was established in 1985 by Mark Miceli-Farrugia and has today around 9000 visitors annually He invested in a cellar, vines and experimented with varieties. To start with he had to make the land on the former military airfield fertile. Before grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay could grow here, he grew peas and wheat

On the way you pass: a dog park, a cat village, a veterinary clinic, sports field and here and there houses, before there is a large stretch of fields. There grow vegetables, olives, pomegranates, figs and grapes The vines are cut remarkably short The ground is very stony, the fields enclosed by dry stone walls, which are totally overgrown with prickly pears, a type of cactus The combination wall and cactus act as a windbreak and protects the soil from eroding The prickly pears can be eaten or pressed into tasty juice

Unfortunately the wanderer will also come across many wild rubbish dumps in the countryside – because Malta has a big waste disposal problem

The old part of Mdina on the other hand, is a feast for the eyes and the palate. There is magnificent architecture and horse-drawn carriages. Not far from the old city walls, the Peristyle restaurant is recommended for its down-to-earth cuisine A Maltese speciality is roast rabbit No other European country eats more rabbits than Malta, the serving waitress confirms There are a few commercial farms where rabbits are kept like chickens, she says But the meat would taste very different

Most of the of the rabbits however come from small enterprises who only have a few rabbits, like her grandfather.

According to official figures: around 550 000 rabbits are slaughtered in Malta every year, which is more than in any other EU country; 500 000 of the animals came from backyard farms, the remaining 50 000 from commercial facilities with slaughterhouses

5 km southwest of Mdina on the coast lies the Dingli cliffs and is recommended as one of the great sights of Malta The terraced fields sloping down to the sea are very impressive, a few part time farmers have planted gardens and small fields here At a particularly beautiful vantage point, a shrewd saleswoman has set up her stand Maltese products are very popular with tourists, she knows that. She sells fig bread, juice from prickly pears and pomegranates, tea from carob; the apples and carob come from her own garden, she says.

A typical Maltese product are capers When asked where they grow, you often get the succinct answer in Malta: "Everywhere " And indeed they grow in the most unforgiving spots like on rocky ground (above) The friendly stall owner leads to an inconspicuous bush with leaves crawling along the ground Its small green buds are picked in early summer, then soaked in water and salt for at least three weeks It's a lot of work, she reveals In Valletta, the Interspar supermarket has 700-gram jars on the shelf for €3 They come from abroad, agronomist Jeanette Borg is quite sure of that The capers picked and processed in Malta are a delicacy and a 350 gram jar costs around €5

At the checkout at Interspar in Valletta a large poster advertises: "We are working successfully with 48 countries." In fact, the majority of food in Maltese supermarkets comes from abroad, confirms agronomist Jeanette Borg Only about 30% of the food needed in Malta is produced in the country itself Domestic agriculture is often unable to compete with imported goods in terms of price Maltese agriculture faces difficult conditions: water scarcity, small farms, inefficiency and high land prices For young people, the profession is not very attractive, the average age of farmers is 55 years The Ukraine crisis and the shortage of grains a little while ago showed how risky it is for country like Malta, that imports almost all its cereals

BOOK – 200 Farmers of Scotland – NOW £20 when ordering direct

Every farmer has a story to tell This book covers the diverse range of Scottish farmers and crofters from those farming the rugged hills of the Highlands to the sandy loams of the Lowlands. From owner occupiers, tenant farmers, share farmers, crofters, farm managers, starter farmers, to new entrants, farming from 10 acres to 31 000 acres – the people are as diverse as the landscapes and environment in which they work

Scotland covers 7.8 million hectares, of that 5.7 million or 73% is farmland, or 79% if common grazing is included. This book has photographs of 200 farmers and interviews with 109 from across the country from Orkney to Berwick and Durness to Stranraer within its 288 pages It is available from individual bookshops and farm outlets or direct from the author To order direct: drop an e-mail to Eilidh MacPherson at editor@farmingscotland com or private message on facebook – farmingscotland com for details

The sun shines 300 days a year and it attracts over 2 million tourists, four times as much as inhabitants. But it has little agriculture and depends on food imports.