Use of agricultural land for recreation to be curbed under new law
Farmers and landowners must register land and submit crop plan as of September
Advertising arable land for sale while promoting its use for purposes other than agricultural will be banned under new regulations that will come into force in September.
The regulations will also require landowners to register their farmland or risk having it taken away from them, with the government saying all registered farmland should be cultivated at least once a year.
Collectively termed the Protection of Agricultural Land Regulations, the new laws establish measures and processes to safeguard arable land. They apply to land outside the development zone and come into force on September 24.
Farmers and valid title holders will be required to register their land within six months of the laws coming into force. They will also have to provide a crop plan outlining what produce will be cultivated for one year or more.
Activities that cause damage to soil, such as covering it with concrete or stones, or storing objects larger than two square metres for more than 30 days, will be banned.
The latter provision is intended to end the practice of landowners using arable land as storage space for things like boats.
As a minimum obligation, agricultural land should be cultivated at least once a year, unless fallow periods are part of the crop plan, or part of an agri-environmental measure financed through national or EU funds.
The regulations also allow the government to transfer the management of any land that is not registered to Riżorsi Agrikoli Malta until the legitimate owner claims the land. If no such claim is made within three months, RAM will have the power to allocate it to a farmer for cultivation. If a valid title is provided, the land will return to the title holder against certain conditions.
Sharlo Camilleri, the permanent secretary in the agriculture ministry, said agricultural land was one of Malta’s most precious and limited resources that was the foundation of the country’s food security and national identity.
“Through these measures, land will be registered and owners encouraged to keep the land in a good state, while also guarding against speculation,” he said.
“Climate change and conflict mean that we can’t take local food for granted. Every piece of land is an opportunity.”
As a result, Camilleri added, the government wanted to ensure that agricultural land is used for agriculture, while at the same time protecting soil and biodiversity.
Malta's small size and dense population means agricultural land is far more scarce - and therefore expensive - than in other EU member states. Earlier this year, EU statistical agency Eurostat reported that Maltese farmland costs 24 times the EU average, at just over €283,000 per hectare.
Still room for recreation, minister says
Agriculture Minister Anton Refalo stressed that the regulations were not meant to take rights away from farmers and landowners.
“We are giving farmers more protection and providing a framework that strengthens their ability to carry out their work,” he said, adding that the government would never have a title to the land.
“We started a revolution, a change of mentality that means we no longer see farmers who simply go to the market with their boxes of produce, but as businesspeople who ensure that farming is sustainable and competitive not just now but also in the future.
The minister said that the reforms would not stop people from using agricultural land for recreational purposes, so long as this only occupied a small part of the land.
Malcolm Borg, president of NGO Għaqda Bdiewa Attivi, praised the new regulations, saying that he hoped they would lead to a more common-sense approach to land management in Malta, and address the “exorbitant” price of agricultural land and its use for recreational purposes.
“The attitude of some landowners is that it’s no one else’s business what they do with it, but agricultural land shouldn’t be treated like any other piece of land, since it has the potential to be productive and can contribute to the public good,” he said.
“We have almost no natural resources, so we need to protect what we have. We’ve already played with fire twice during the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. We shouldn’t wait to be burned before we act.”