“In every challenge lies a greater opportunity”. And this entrepreneurial farmer just demonstrated it in a simple Facebook post.

Following the Times of Malta article regarding pesticide residues, young farmer Mr. Stephen Bartolo, has revealed the MCCAA certificate showing that such harmful residues were not present on crops grown on his family farm.

Mr. Bartolo who read for a Degree in Horticulture at MCAST is an active supporter of the Malta Youth in Agriculture Foundation. He stated that at Ta’ Bona farm, all food safety regulations are strictly observed.

Methods to avoid using chemical pesticides (shown below) are continuously being practiced as part of an Integrated Pest Management system (IPM). This system makes conventional agriculture more sustainable as it respects the environment and saves costs on agrochemicals.

Growing crops in greenhouses offers increased protection against pests

Zucchini are grown inside a greenhouse, and safeguarded further with netted tunnels to offer a secondary level of protection

The manual removal of weeds eliminates the need to use herbicides

Plastic mulching reduces evaporation of water from soil and also prevents weeds from growing right next to crops

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Contact the MaYA Foundation for more information about local agriculture.