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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/