The Gozo Ministry recently hosted the first public event of the SiMaSeed Plus project at the newly-restored windmill in Xewkija. The Interreg V-A Italia-Malta programme of the European Union, which involves an investiment of €471,000, contributes towards the smart, sustainable and inclusive growth of the territories of Sicily and Malta.

The SiMaSeed Plus project, a sequel of the SiMaSeed project, through which new laboratory facilities were set up in Gozo focusing on seed collection, processing and conservation (seed bank), soil science and didactic facilities, aims to continue building on the SiMaSeed results. In particular, it aims to study plant resilience to climate change through the use of advanced technology, enhance the seed collections in seed banks in Malta and Sicily and implement further conservation actions in situ by eradicating alien species and reinforcing delicate plant populations.

The programme also aims to raise awareness in the community on the beauty and importance of local wild flora and transferring knowledge to economic operators on the potential use of local wild plants in landscaping, flower production and other economic activites.

The event was addressed by Gozo Ministry project leader Anthony Zammit, Antonia Cristaudo and Giuseppina Alongi of the University of Catania and by Joseph Buhagiar of the University of Malta.

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