Agriculture, land use and resource transformation in Malta

Abstract

The context of this paper is that of a small island with limited natural resources, where the 'standard of living is sustained by the vigor of the tertiary sector. It has been externally derived income which has provided the main stimulus for the secular growth of the Maltese economy: in the distant past from the Knights of St John, then from British defense spending and most recently from European tourists. During the last three centuries, Maltese agriculture has experienced a seemingly inexorable decline in its importance, though there have been fluctuations as periods of recession in the tertiary sector brought temporary revivals in agriculture.