Rizorsi Agrikoli Malta Agency

The Riżorsi Agrikoli Malta Agency will be reaching its goals and proposals on which the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights has worked hard to carry out the reform that has always been needed in the agricultural sector.

The Agency will be looking primarily at the protection of agricultural land in a way that agricultural land continues to be cultivated and farmed by genuine farmers in order to guarantee the sustainability of farming, food production and the protection of the rural environment.

The Agency will therefore strengthen control over the acquisition and possession of arable land, as well as address issues that may lead to crop losses and guarantee the sustainability of farming, food production as well as the protection of the rural environment.

This Agency will keep a register where information on the ownership and use of land will being kept by through the registration of agricultural land for both those being leased to farmers and those which are being farmed by the owner himself as well as the registration of any sales of agricultural land. In doing so, the Agency will ensure that agricultural land will continue to be cultivated for its agricultural purpose.

Moreover, the Agency will also be supporting and assisting farmers in funding support initiatives in order to develop, implement and coordinate all private projects and initiatives for the agricultural sector.

The Agency’s main responsibilities are:

• Support the sustainable development of the agricultural sector in Malta;
• Implement regulations and Government policies on agricultural resources;
• Ensure responsible governance of tenure private agricultural land through an effective management system of agricultural land;
• Implement projects and administer schemes related to development and management of agricultural land and water resources;
• Update, coordinate and implement the Agricultural Waste Management Plan prevalent at that time and to register and sustainably manage agricultural bioresources in a way that supports the agricultural sector in Malta.

In order to achieve these objectives, the Agency will be setting up a register to keep information on the ownership and use of private agricultural land. The registration of agricultural land shall be carried out by the owner himself where, in addition to declaring that the land is his own, he will provide information whether such land is being leased to a farmer, is being cultivated by himself or whether the land is not being used.

However, apart from this register where agricultural land will be registered, another register will be kept where information will be kept concerning all sales and transfers of agricultural land. The main purpose of this register is that the Agency will ensure that agricultural land will continue to be cultivated for its agricultural purpose by genuine farmers.

But not only, the Agency, will be acquiring land that is being offered for sale by its owners, so that this land can then be allocated to be farmed by genuine farmers, especially new farmers who are still entering or are trying to enter the agricultural sector.

The information which will be collected in the registers will enable the Agency to serve as an intermediary and will be able to bring forward farmers wishing to enter the agricultural sector, especially young people or genuine farmers, looking for arable land together with other farmers willing to transfer their holding or owners willing to rent or sell their land. With this, the Agency will ensure that agricultural land will be passed on to people who are really willing to work and expand the agricultural sector.

Riżorsi Agrikoli Malta will be establishing various measures to incentivise both farmers and landowners whose land is being leased to third parties.

With this in mind, the Agency Riżorsi Agrikoli Malta, together with the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights, will ensure that agricultural land is being used for its agricultural purpose in order to guarantee the sustainability of the agricultural sector, food production as well as the protection of the rural environment.