Public Consultation on Rural Development Launched

Roderick Galdes, the Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, was part of the launching of a public consultation this afternoon on Malta's rural development programme, held at the Corinthia Hotel in Attard.

A total of €138 million has been allocated by the EU for the development of rural areas in Malta.

"The government is determined that a better development plan will reflect in the real needs of the agricultural sector, assures the implementation of electoral promises, whilst at the same time guarantees cooperation with other fields  such as tourism, the environment and waste management," Galdes said.

He said that any strategies need to be considered hand-in-hand with factors such as climate change, sustainability and the creation of work.

Professor Janet Dwyer, a representative of the Community and County Research Institute (CCRI) in the UK - in partnership with the Malta Planning Authority - said that Malta needed to build on its strengths and minimise any weaknesses it could have.

Dwyer said that in Malta's case, the priorities included the water, waste and energy, traceability and quality, sustainable livestock, the landscape and environment, and marketing and promotion of local produce.

She said that a better knowledge of products and where they are produced is needed, but this could only be achieved by working together with the relevant stakeholders.

Dwyer stressed that in order for any of this to work - and for things to be done in an efficient and economical way - a good infrastructure was needed to be in place in the first place.

Dr John Powell, a also of the CCRI, said that a similar consultation process in the UK - which started in September 2012 - took a 'bottom-up approach' and involved  six groups of stakeholders, including farmers, NGOs and processers and other stakeholders.

Powell said that the aim of the consultation was to assess key policy areas, identifying strategies, exploring the resources which were needed and exploring options for investment.

He said that the issues which were raised during this process allowed for a clearer understanding of certain issues, which in turn led to a widespread support for change.

Donald Aquilina, from the Managing Authority, said that the chosen projects from this phase of consultation must address the real needs in the field.