In Malta, agriculture is largely characterized by small-scale family-run farms, often managed part-time alongside other sources of income. Due to the fragmented nature of these holdings, achieving economies of scale and staying competitive in the global market proves challenging. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan (SP) is developed to overcome these obstacles, tailored to address the specific needs of the Maltese agricultural sector.
This plan, spanning from 2023 to 2027, aims to provide necessary resources to support farmers and meet future demands. It prioritizes various goals, including environmental conservation, ensuring fair income for farmers, improving rural infrastructure, embracing new technologies, and enhancing the resilience of farms to various challenges.
Funded through the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), the CAP Strategic Plan covers the entirety of the Maltese Islands. Its interventions target three overarching objectives: fostering a resilient and diversified agricultural sector, ensuring long-term food security, and strengthening environmental protection and socio-economic conditions in rural areas.
With a total budget of €166 million, the plan is structured around nine specific objectives, ranging from supporting farm income and enhancing market competitiveness to addressing climate change mitigation, biodiversity loss, and attracting young farmers. To achieve these objectives, the CAP Strategic Plan allocates resources for various initiatives. These include improving basic income support rates, supporting young and small-scale farmers, promoting ecological farming methods, investing in modern irrigation systems and digitalization, incentivizing organic farming practices, and enhancing animal welfare standards, among others.
Furthermore, measures such as fostering knowledge exchange, providing training for farmers, and supporting apiculture practices are also foreseen. Those interested in more detailed information can access the CAP Strategic Plan fact sheet on this link (Country Factsheets (europa.eu) while the Strategic Plan for Malta can be accessed here (FONDI.eu | Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan – FONDI.eu). Ultimately, the CAP Strategic Plan endeavors to modernize Malta’s agricultural sector while ensuring sustainable practices, food security, and environmental conservation.