Cap Conference 2008

10 November 2008

A conference on the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) and its impact in Malta took place in Victoria – Gozo in 7-9 November 2008. The event was organised by Gozitano Agri Coop, a Maltese farmers association, in partnership with ten organisations from a number of Member States, including the UK National Farmers Union, and co-financed by the European Commission DG Agriculture. The conference aimed to discuss the contribution of CAP to sustainable growth by analysing the reformed policy at European and national level, and presenting specific cases, experiences and good practices carried out in several EU countries.

Among the speakers, a number of experts of CAP and environmental policy, representatives of farmers associations, university researchers, Maltese officers and farmer advisors from several Member States took the floor. Samuela Bassi from IEEP presented some insights on Payments for Environmental Services (PES), their relevance to support sustainable agriculture and their relevance in the context of the CAP.

The conference was opened, among others, by the Maltese Minister for Resources and Rural Affairs and the Environment, George Pullicino, who presented an overview of the Maltese agriculture policy and CAP allocation. He mentioned that Malta is active in the health check debate, and keen to modernise the CAP and promote sustainable agriculture. Aware of the implications of agriculture on climate change – whose effects are expected to be particularly dangerous in the Mediterranean countries – Minister Pullicino announced that the Maltese government is preparing an economic analysis of the impacts of agriculture on the environment and the budget needed to reduce these effects. The findings will help shaping the Maltese strategy and position on the budget reform.

The difficulty to regulate and modernise small farms, to retain young farmers, increase environmental awareness among producers and consumers, and the importance to brand local products – also in light of the recent Green Paper on agriculture products quality -  was highlighted by  number of speakers, and are likely to play an important role in the future Maltese agriculture policy.  Among the key environmental challenges, the Maltese agriculture policy will have to tackle the issue of water over-exploitation and the excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers leading to high concentrations on nitrates in water and soil.

This event was the second organised by Gozitano Coop with the support from Dg Agriculture. A third conference on health check and the budget review is expected to be launched again next year in Malta.

Report Cap Conference 2007