Agriculture in Gozo will receive a boost through a BOV-sponsored conference that will have agriculture in Gozo as its main topic of discussion.

The conference is being organised jointly by the Gozitano Cooperative and the European Commission (DG Agri), and is being held at the Astra theatre conference centre in Victoria, between 7-9 November.

Jack Theuma, manager at Bank of Valletta’s Gozo branch discussed the bank’s involvement in the conference with Joseph Grech, manager of Gozitano Cooperative during a courtesy visit to the Gozitano centre.

“Bank of Valletta will shortly be launching a new agricultural financing package for all agricultural projects and rural development eligible for EU funding for the programming period 2007-2013”, said Mr Theuma.

“The bank is committed to support those initiatives and events that promote sustainable development in Gozo”

Dr Grech thanked the Bank for its support and said that “the conference will be tackling numerous topics of interest to the agricultural community. These include the sustainability of European agriculture, the EU Common Agricultural Policy, environmental sustainability for Malta and quality production for agricultural development in the Mediterranean”.

Speakers include George Pullicino, Minister for Resources and Rural Affairs, Giovanna Debono, Minister for Gozo, and Chris Said, Parliamentary Secretary for Public Dialogue.

The Gozitano Cooperative includes approximately 695 members and offers various services from its centre in Xewkija. It also supplies its members with seeds, fertilizers and farming equipment which includes the facility of an olive press which the farmers can use to extract olive oil.