For the past couple of years, I've been keeping track of what's going on with the Ġbejna saga, now I'm informed that the draft legal notice regulating the production and sale of the traditional Maltese Ġbejna is really in the final stages. Mind you, this has been in the pipeline at least for the past … Continue reading Parliament to decide the fate of the Ġbejna
Here are my reactions to the article featured on the Sunday Times of Malta on the 29th of July relating to pesticide residues. Let's be absolutely clear, in an ideal situation we would have 0 (zero) samples resulting in excessive residues. In writing these observations, I am in no way defending the fraction of irresponsible … Continue reading Fearful consumers, silent authorities…
The future of food and farming were at the heart of discussions across Europe during the month of June. Sustainable agriculture and funding are the fulcrum of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and now that we are approaching the end of the European Programming period 2014-2020, the logical question to be posed is; what's next? The … Continue reading European agriculture beyond 2020
Over the last years youths are traveling much more. Some venture abroad to further their studies, while others travel to work and widen their horizons. It is not common, on the other hand, to hear about young farmers, who manage to travel while leaving their farms behind. Being a full time farmer means having a … Continue reading MaYA co-founder travels to China for an agri study tour
Meet Joseph Farrugia - a grower from Qrendi who is the brains behind the brand 'Maltese Gold'. Together with his partner, Michael, he produces and markets high quality potatoes, which are now being shipped directly to Holland. Joseph, has recently become a household name with many local growers and farming enthusiasts. His daily motivational posts … Continue reading Maltese Gold
The Maltese Islands are not short of food festivals. The Department of Agriculture has even set up a dedicated Rural Festivities Unit to increase the knowledge of local people about agriculture, animals and fishery. However, no one can deny that Festa Frawli stands out from all the rest and has become one of the most … Continue reading Festa Frawli – a formula for success
"Everything should be in line, and all relevant authorities have been brought up to speed in order to register the Ġbejna as PDO. So Malta is now very close to elevate the status of the Ġbejna. Unfortunately the biggest current obstacle in the way is bureaucracy at a local level." One thing that makes us … Continue reading Close, yet so far!
Earlier today, a number of farmers and their representatives attended a consultation meeting at the Koperattivi Malta premises in Qormi with regards to the Maltese Agri Policy 2018-2028. Mr. Eman Vella from Atriga Consult gave a brief introduction of the draft policy and its priorities. Hon. Clint Camilleri made his intervention by saying that this … Continue reading Consultation for Maltese Agri Policy
Recently I had a chat with a full time farmer who seemed keen to share an incident that happened to his 11-year-old son... let's call the boy 'Ronald', for argument's sake. Ronald and his classmates were asked by their teacher a question: "Can you mention different professionals?". All the kids started naming conventional professions such … Continue reading “Being a farmer is not a profession” or is it?
I got to know Karl when he was a student at MCAST Agribusiness, quite a few years ago. Since then he graduated in Animal Management and became a full time farmer. He manages a broiler farm of 23,000 chickens in Dingli, a rural village in Malta. I'm proud to have worked with him on various … Continue reading Maltese young farmer’s take on the EU
