Agriculture

Farmer's Rights

• Safeguard farmers' rights from predatory expropriation practices.

  • At least 4 months' notice must be given.

    • If an appeal is filed by the landowner/farmer, any work must be halted until the appeal has been resolved.

• Any plans for expropriation must fairly compensate the landowners in advance.

  • If the occupier is a farmer then they must also receive fair compensation in advance.

Vertical Farms

• Incentivise Research in different vertical farming methods and how to maximise production & quality, while minimising water & energy consumption taking into consideration Malta’s climate.

  • Research should also include anticipating the effects of climate change and preparing mitigation strategies.

• Support Malta’s farmers in introducing vertical farming in their existing infrastructure.

  • Create Grants to facilitate the purchase of equipment to set up a vertical farm.

    • The Grant can be claimed by independent farmers & tenant farmers.

      • The equipment purchased by the Grant would be the property of the farmers unless the conditions of the Grant are not met.

    • Make the Grant conditional to ensuring sustainability in production where possible such as through making use of as much as possible.

      • Recycled & Rainwater.

      • Renewable Energy.

• Foster and also provide expertise to farmers wishing to adopt vertical farming practices through local and also international sources with experience in similar climates.

• Foster Start-Ups aiming to innovate vertical farming.

  • Identify an abandoned building in the public or private sector and establish a hub to be used by start-ups.

    • Modifying the building ensures access to required amenities, and is done sustainably.

Urban Farming (Roofs/Balconies etc)

• Encourage the public to make use of urban farming techniques where possible.

• Incentivise Research in different urban farming methods for different types of buildings, and how to maximise production & quality, while minimising water & energy consumption taking into consideration Malta’s climate.

  • Ensure research for different quantities of sun exposure.

• Foster Community Cooperatives who commit to take care of roof gardens in their rented residences, particularly for apartments.

  • Encourage bookkeeping standards of produce created from Urban Farming, for statistical analysis and compensation schemes.

    • Create a verification system for spot-checks by a committee made up of urban farming experts to help validate the data.

• Create safeguards for buildings with urban farms/gardens on roofs to ensure accessibility to sunlight, or fair compensation at the expense of the developer who would be responsible for the construction of the building taking away access to sunlight.

  • Fair compensation for urban farms/gardens would be;

    • A lump sum is given to the Community Cooperative, or homeowner equivalent to the value of the roof garden, and the market value of produce generated from the space in an average year based on data collected by the bookkeepers.

    • Financing the modification of the urban farm/garden to accommodate for reduced access to sunlight (only if possible, otherwise fall back to lump sum)

Community Gardens

• Create Community Gardens. Utilise existing, and create new public spaces within localities which will include Community Garden sections within them. This would allow members of the community to come together and work towards taking care of the garden and reap the fruit of their labour.

  • Ensure the community garden is composed of indigenous plants.

  • Ensure there are cameras to ensure the plants are not uprooted & stolen/vandalised

    • Ensure strict enforcement & fines for any criminal acts.

  • Provide community learning sessions on tending the plants.

  • Place the community gardens under the responsibility of the respective local councils.

    • Ensure the local councils are equipped with the capacity to manage the gardens.