The Malta environment & planning authority rural policies : a critical analysis

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to analyse and criticise the current rural planning policies regulated by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority and their effects on the Maltese agricultural community in particular focus to the horticultural sector. Rural development has been with us since humans evolved from hunter gatherers to nomads and domesticated plants and animals for their consumption and settled to form villages which grew into cities. Rural planning policies in Malta started being tailored after the publication of the Structure Plan in 1990 and envisaged that specific Policy documents be drawn up by the competent Authority in collaboration with major stakeholders in the field. To date, two Policy documents have been published with the latest issued in 2007. This document entitled The Policy and Design Guidance Agriculture, Farm Diversification and Stables 2007, was an update of the first document. Both documents were criticised at large by the farming community and other institutions for the lack of sensitivity towards today's agricultural needs and policies which are not scientifically based and also go against the national policy framework for this sector. These claims have caught the eyes of the author to investigate further, comment and if need be propose holistic alternatives. This was done by analysing the document and make comments based on statistical data, Government information, academic books and Journals, case law and interviews.