The number of agricultural holdings in 2020 was 10,281, which marks a decrease of 16.2% since 2010 when there were 12,268 holdings.
This was revealed in the National Statistics Office's (NSO) census of agricultural 2020.
The highest number of agricultural holdings was in the Western district, with a total of 2,479 holdings (24.1%). On the other hand, the least number of agricultural holdings was in the Northern Harbour district with a total of 750 holdings (7.3%).
The study also showed that the vast majority (98.7%) of agricultural holdings were sole-holder holdings. 0.8% were managed by groups or partnerships and 0.5% were managed by companies.
Farmers who were both the farm manager and the sole holder of the activity managed 9,510 holdings (93.7%). The remaining 640 holdings were managed by managers who were family members (5.7%) or by managers who were not family members (0.6%) of the sole-holder holdings.
The majority of agricultural managers were male (89%). The majority of agricultural managers were also 65+ years of age, and managers under 44 only made up 17.5% of all agricultural managers.
The study also found that 53.1% of all managers had other gainful activities. 89% of these said that the other gainful activity was their primary activity, whilst 11% said that it was a secondary activity.
The utilised agricultural area (UAA) also decreased in 2020. It decreased by 6.2% in 2020 when compared to 2010. In 2010 there were 11,445 hectares of UAA, whilst in 2020 there were 10,731 hectares of UAA.
The largest amount of UAA, 3,252 hectares (30.3%), was found to be situated in the Western district. This was followed by the Northern and the Gozo and Comino districts with 2,542 hectares (23.7%) and 2,449 hectares (22.8%) respectively.
In this case, the only farm typologies where the utilised agricultural area increased in 2020 were for non-classified holdings and specialist field crops.
The agricultural land was primarily made up of UAA at 94.1%. Then unutilised agricultural land and other land made up 3% and 2.9% respectively. The unutilised agricultural area has increased by 43% in 2020 when compared to 2010.
The area of forage plants covered 5,252 hectares (67.5%) of the total arable land.
The area for the cultivation of potatoes took up 570 hectares (7.3%) of the total arable land.
The area for the cultivation of outdoor vegetables took up 1,090 hectares (14%) of the total arable land.
Overall, livestock units decreased by 23.6% in 2020 when compared to 2010. In 2010 there were 41,652 livestock units and in 2020 there were 31,825 livestock units.
It emerged that there were a total of 241 cattle farms with a cattle population of 14,447 heads. Out of this total, 5,996 heads were found to be dairy cows, and the majority of cattle farms were located in the South Eastern district amounting to 94 farms (39%).
The data also shows that on average, farms in Malta had a total of 46 heads while farms in Gozo had 120 heads each.
Regarding the labour force, between the period of 1 September 2019 to 31 August 2020, the labour force comprised 13,342 persons, with 86.5% being male. The absolute majority of the agricultural labour force, equivalent to 12,956 workers or 97.1%, worked in sole-holder holdings.
The number of workers working less than 1,800 hours decreased by 31.7% in 2020 when compared to 2010. In 2010 there were 16,912 workers whilst in 2020 there were 11,544 workers.
However, the number of workers working 1,800 hours or more, increased by 38.2% in 2020. In 2010 there were 1,300 workers and in 2020 there were 1,797 workers.