Over a hundred farmers eligible for new agritourism development

111 farmers own land parcels greater than 60 tumoli (67,000 square metres) of land which will render them automatically eligible for the development of agri-tourism development.

Other farmers and landowners may be eligible if they pool different plots of land in a joint bid to construct agritourism facilities.

A draft policy issued by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority last month stated that up to 400 square-metre developments can take place on each of these 60 tumuli holdings.

The only sites excluded from such development are Level 1 or Level 2 protected ecological areas but development will be permitted on buffer zones to these sensitive areas and even on site of high landscape value.

The largest number of farmers who own 60 tumoli of land or more is found in Mgarr, where 19 farmers own this amount of land. 32% of all farmers owning more than 60 tumuli of land hail from Gozo. After Mgarr, the largest amount of farmers owning this amount of land is found in Rabat (8), Mosta (8) Siggiewi, Victoria and Kercem (7), Zejtun (6) and St Paul's Bay (6).

Minister Leo Brincat tabled the information in parliament in reply to a question by Nationalist MP Censu Galea.

The new policy allows the development of 400 square metres within 60 tumoli, holdings. To be eligible, the applicant must be either a registered farmer tilling 60 tumoli of contiguous land or an owner who enters in to an agreement with the farmers tilling the land in question.

The new policy effectively enables owners who are not farmers themselves to reap profits from land, which they had bought cheaply in the past due to its ODZ status. In short, land which previously could not be developed, has suddenly acquired value.

According to Michael Farrugia, the 60 tumoli threshold is aimed at encouraging neighbouring farmers to join forces, possibly as cooperatives.

The 60-tumoli rule will limit the mushrooming of agritourism facilities on smaller land parcels. In this way, new agritourism facilities will only be developed over a very large area.

But the scale of development may be larger as developers may seek to incorporate other facilities like boutique wineries, horse riding establishments and stables, swimming pools, olive oil production, bee keeping facilities, farm shops and other developments permitted in the policy, all located in the same area.

Moreover, according to the new policy, such development can even take place on sites accorded a Level 3 grade of protection to serve as buffer zones to sites of scientific and ecological importance. Moreover, while most other developments like stables and swimming pools are also excluded from Class A or Class B areas of archaeological importance or in areas of high landscape value, no such restrictions apply to agritourism facilities.