UĦM Voice of the Workers eMagazine issue 21

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VOICE OF THE

WORKERS ISSUE 21 MAY 2014

The importance of Agriculture Contents ONE CANNOT TALK ABOUT MALTA’S ECONOMIC SECTORS AND EXCLUDE AGRICULTURE. ON FACE VALUE, IT SEEMS LIKE ITS IMPORTANCE IS OVERVALUED. IN FACT, THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR’S CONTRIBUTION TO OUR LOCAL GDP HOVERS AT AROUND JUST TWO PER CENT. HOWEVER, LOOKING AT AGRICULTURE SOLELY FROM ITS DIRECT CONTRIBUTION TO GDP IS VERY SIMPLISTIC

Sowing the seeds for success

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Seizing Opportunities

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The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy

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Sustainable Agriculture

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Agriculture at a European Level

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EDITOR’S NOTE JOSEF VELLA First of all, although much of our food is obtained through imports, most Maltese households highly appreciate local produce. Our sunshine is the backbone of the sector’s success. We have an early crop, and its quality is clearly discernible when compared to other, competing countries. Moreover, local, fresh produce is much more accessible to the local market than imported crops. Apart from the economic aspects, there are also environmental reasons behind the importance of agriculture. Tilled land helps preserve our fertile, albeit scarce supply of soil. Lack of land being worked for purposes of VOICE OF THE

WORKERS

agriculture can result in extreme soil erosion that once lost, cannot be regained. Also, agriculture is an intrinsic part of the Maltese landscape. This is important for locals as it is for tourists who are enchanted by the rustic scenery, the rubble walls and the unique, Mediterranean landscape. All this is apart from protecting land from being developed, providing much needed open spaces forming the country’s lungs. If we agree that Maltese agriculture needs protecting, we need to move from words to action. This is a multi-stakeholder aspect, not just one-sided. First

of all, farmers are a dying breed. Research shows that employment in this sector decreased by 50% during the last ten years, and most of Malta’s farmers are parttimers. This means that farming is not being seen as attractive, both economically as well as physically. We need to invest more in making this work more attractive and worthwhile. On the part of the farmers themselves, there has to be more effort for education and awareness. Aspects such as sustainable water use, and the use of pesticides are a case in point. Unfortunately, the agricultural sector in Malta has always been very fragmented, and 1


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