The prospect of organic farming in the Maltese Islands

Abstract

The primary objective of this thesis was to assess the pragmatic viability of practising organic framing management systems in Malta. An extensive review of the literature concerning organic farming, sustainability, sustainable agriculture and how the environmental, economic and social aspects of agriculture affect its sustainability was undertaken. At the same time a qualitative study of stakeholders opinions of organic farming was held through the use of semi-structured interviews. Finally a market survey was conducted (n=510) to try to understand how the Maltese consumer perceives food safety risks. The contingent valuation method was used to examine the consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) a premium for organic produce. The results of the interviews indicated that farmers and administrators view organic farming as an ideal that is very difficult to achieve through the limits of agricultural practice in Malta. On the other hand three foreign experts indicated that organic farming in Malta may well be the opportunity local farmers need to tap lucrative niche markets abroad. As for the local market, 22.9% of respondents expressed willingness to pay over 20% more to obtain fresh food produce that was certified as organic. WTP showed strong correlations with gender and perceived food risks. In the last decade organic agriculture, has become a significant landmark for agriculture worldwide. The organic option for the Maltese Islands can be considered as an attractive choice for environmental planning and management on the Islands, however, a serious amount of research, mainly in the form of a long term, government-sponsored pilot experimental farm project needs to be undertaken in order to assess whether organic farming could become the 'pillar' of Rural Development in Malta.