The first 340 indigenous Maltese olive trees produced following the launch of the Project for the Revival of the Maltese Olive (PRIMO) in January last year are being planted in various localities in the country.
A batch of 50 indigenous Maltese olive trees of the Bidnija variety was planted yesterday by Bank of Valletta employees in Gudja during a news conference that was addressed by Sam Cremona, who gave details about the progress being registered by the PRIMO project. The news conference was also addressed by Francis Agius, Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture and Fisheries, and Charles Borg, executive head at the CEO’s office of Bank of Valletta.
Dr Agius said the PRIMO project was an excellent example of collaboration between a private individual, Bank of Valletta and the government through the Department of Agriculture. “We are pleased that the PRIMO project has delivered its first tangible results with the successful grafting of 340 new indigenous Maltese olive trees that are now being planted in various localities and which will serve to conserve a part of Malta’s agricultural heritage,” said Dr Agius. He added that the Department of Agriculture was continuing to lend its support to the PRIMO project.
Mr Cremona said he was satisfied with the results of the first year of the PRIMO project. “While we would have liked to have more than 340 trees to plant this year, we still consider this result to be highly encouraging, considering that these trees were grafted using imported rootstock which was not in its original habitat and therefore had to be acclimatised. Besides, the cuttings used to graft the rootstock were taken from ancient trees and we were aware that the success rate would be impacted due to these factors.”
“What is significant is that these 340 trees, together with the 500 indigenous Maltese olive trees that were already on our register, are now giving us a very strong genetic bank of olive trees that will spearhead the future propagation of additional trees,” he added.
PRIMO olive trees have to date been planted at various localities in Malta including Mgarr, Safi, Wardija, Zurrieq, Gudja, Zebbiegh, Dwejra, Bahar ic-Caghaq, Siggiewi, Zebbug and Dingli.
Mr Cremona announced that
the efforts are continuing this year and, following a longer acclimatisation of the rootstock, over the past weeks, another 2,000 trees have been grafted.
Charles Borg said PRIMO underlined Bank of Valletta’s support for initiatives that sought to contribute to the improvement of the Maltese environment and promoted Maltese tradition.