General overview of the situation in rural areas in the MS

Malta

Agricultural land (UAA) in Malta covers 48% of the country surface. 29% of the country surface is classified as artificial land . There is little forest (0.9%) and no permanent pastures.

The average size of a Maltese holding is 0.9 ha; only 2% of the farms have more than 5 ha. The agricultural sector in Malta employs 0.4% of the population (considering only full-time workers and 4% of the population considering also part-time workers) . Although the primary sector accounts for only 2.2% of the gross value generated by the Maltese economy, agriculture significantly contributes to landscape maintenance and is a component of cultural heritage, which is crucial to maintain the tourism industry. Therefore, agriculture in Malta has multiple functions and has a value beyond its economic contribution. Arable land accounts for 80% of the UAA. A large proportion of arable land (55.8%) is used for animal feed, followed by 20.1% for vegetables, 10% for potatoes, 13.6% fallow land and 0.5% for flowers and seeds.

The RDP reports that increasing urbanisation and intensification of agricultural systems pressure land resources. Malta as the most densely populated country in EU, and natural resources such as land and water for agricultural production are in short supply. Livestock production is intensive as these farms have no grassland or pasture. The area under organic farming has increased, but it is still lower than 1% of the total UAA. Irrigated land has more than doubled since 2001. In 2005, irrigated land corresponded to 34.4% of the total UAA.

All agricultural land in Malta is affected by natural handicaps, notably low soil productivity and poor climate conditions. The small, fragmented nature of agricultural land results in a very heterogeneous and complex landscape. This makes it difficult to categorise the major types of handicaps and their severity in a particular region; therefore, the RDP does not differentiate different premiums based on the severity of the handicap.

Environmental problems are a serious constraint in Malta. Soil erosion, poor water quality and water scarcity are a result of intensive farming practices. Groundwater often exceeds 50 mg of nitrates per litre mainly due to agriculture activities, such as intensive livestock production and high levels of fertilizer use, and leakages in the sewage collection systems. In some areas the value exceeds 100 mg of nitrates per litre, and in perched aquifers levels exceed 200 mg of nitrates per litre. In addition, as a result of over extraction of groundwater and sea water intrusion, groundwater contains high levels of chloride concentrations. Conversion of ‘Widien’ watercourses and Karstland pools to agricultural land is also an environmental problem, as the ‘Widien’ watercourses are the most common type of freshwater habitat in the Maltese Islands.

Axis II receives 25% of the total public expenditure, while the Axis I receives 34% and Axis III 33%. Under all three axes, water scarcity and quality issues are addressed by measures.

Measure 121 receives 13% of the total public expenditure, and the RDP gives priority to projects within sub-measure 2 “environmental investments”. Measure 125 (corresponding to 5% of the total public expenditure) may have ambiguous impacts in addressing environmental problems. This measure promotes water re-use such as the construction of systems to collect rain-water (public cisterns) and infrastructure to reuse treated sewage effluent, which are actions expected to have positive effects on water scarcity. However, the construction of dams is also possible under this measure and may have negative environmental impacts.

Water quality is addressed by measures in Axis II. Measures 214 and 212 receive 10% and 14% of the total public expenditure, respectively. In addition, five out of seven agri-environmental sub-measures (214) are expected to directly impact water quality.

Within Axis III there are two main measures related to water: measure 323 (conservation and upgrading of the rural heritage) and measure 341 (Skills acquisition and animation to prepare local development strategy). Measure 323 corresponds to 21% of the total public funding and can support protection and management plans related to Natura 2000 sites and other places of high natural value and environmental awareness.

Monitoring, control and review

The guidelines of the Commission’s Common Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (CMEF) and its relevant common indicators will be substituted or supplemented with additional indicators specific to local situations. However, no further specifications are provided. Only one indicator is used to check the effectiveness of agri-environmental measures in relation to water quality, the gross nutrient balance. No indicators are presented to monitor water availability.

The control includes administrative checks and on-the-spot checks. But little information is given about the process of control such as: number of projects subject to on-the-spot checks; administrative processes related to the reception, selection and validation of applications; frequency of on-the-spot checks or penalty mechanisms.

A fixed review of the RDP is planned for the mid-term evaluation that will be carried out by 2010. Although the review process does not mention the Water Framework Directive (WFD) directly, the water indicator, along with the other common indicators, will be assessed.

The WFD is mentioned as a strength in the SWOT analysis of the RDP. The WFD is used as a criterion to select projects related to measures 125 and 121. Water quantity and quality is addressed as a priority in the RDP. However, the RDP makes no reference to article 5 of the WFD.

The RDP mainly uses cross compliance to improve water quality, and since the entire country is considered a nitrate vulnerable zone, it is expected that the nitrate and phosphate balance will decrease at national level. Natural handicap payments (212) and agri-environmental measures (214) together represent only 24% of the total public expenditure. However, cross-compliance might not be sufficient to solve water quality problems in Malta.

In addition, the RDP reports problems related to water shortage and overexploited aquifers. The programme addresses these issues with measures that reduce dependency on groundwater use. All the actions that will be supported under measure 121 have to respect the WFD and avoid the use of groundwater as a source for irrigation. Axis III also supports water management through measure 323, which finances protection and management plans related to Natura 2000 sites and other places of high natural value and environmental awareness.

The programme has no targets for the indicators to evaluate achievements in water quality and scarcity.

Conclusions and options for further improvements of the RD as regards to water

Water issues are widely addressed in the RDP. However, the improvements made under this scheme are difficult to measure as sufficient indicators are missing. Such indicators should be included in a revision of the programme.