Malta lost twice the size of Comino in good farmland over last decade

Over the last decade, the amount of utilised agricultural area in Malta decreased by 6.2%, a survey by the National Statistics Office shows.

Utilised agricultural area decreased from 11,445 hectares in 2010 to 10,730 hectares in 2020 - the loss of land is equivalent to twice the size of Comino.

The census, carried out in collaboration with the Agriculture Directorate within the Ministry for Agriculture took stock of the activities being carried out by farmers, livestock breeders and beekeepers in both Malta and Gozo. This statistical exercise is used to analyse the changes that this sector may have gone through since the last comparable exercise in 2010.

The majority of the agricultural holdings (98.7%) were found to be run by sole holders. Holdings that were found to be managed by groups, partnerships and companies accounted for just 1.3%.

The census also shows agricultural holdings, meaning the consolidation of agricultural land, fixed equipment, farm house, farm buildings, in any regulated tenancy arrangement, fell by 14.8% over the last decade.

Holdings stood at 12,268 in 2010, but fell to 10,449 in 2020.

The breeding of livestock provided a mixed picture.

The number of reared pigs, broilers and cattle decreased by 43.2%, 17.7% and 7.9% respectively, whereas the number of reared sheep, goats and laying hens increased by 36.3%, 31.5% and 12.6% respectively.

The ageing population of the agricultural workforce was evident in the census. During 2010, 49.7% of the workers were over 55 years old while in 2020, these accounted for 57.9% of the total workers.

Male workers accounted for 86.5% of the total agricultural labour force.