The National Statistics Office conducted the Census of Agriculture for the year 2020, in collaboration with the Agriculture Directorate within the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Animal rights (MAFA), to assess activities being carried out by farmers, livestock breeders and beekeepers in both Malta and Gozo.
The last statistical exercise done on this sector was done in 2010. The agricultural census over a period of 10 years saw a decline in utilised agricultural land, rearing of animals and labour force.
The major findings of the census found a decrease of 14.8% of the number of agricultural holdings, from 12,268 in 2010 to 10,449 in 2020.
A majority of 6,122 agricultural holdings (58.6%) sold a share or all their produce, while 4,327 holdings (41.4%) kept their produce solely for their own consumption.
The holdings who sold their produce overall cultivated a larger agricultural area, that of 8,895 hectares which amounted to 82.9% of utilised agricultural land. Overall, however, the amount of utilised agricultural area has decreased by 6.2% since 2010.
The census found that the number of reared animals, such as pigs, broilers, and cattle, has decreased by 43.2%, 17.7% and 7.9% respectively. On the other hand, the rearing of sheep, goats and laying hens increased, with percentages of 36.3, 31.5 and 12.6 respectively.
Labour force has seen a decline, particularly due to the evident ageing factor in the agricultural labour force, with only 23.7% of the workers being under the age of 45 years. 45.8% of the holdings had devised a succession plan upon their retirement, to continue the agricultural work. The vast majority of these areas were run by sole holders (98.7%), with most of them being male.
These agricultural holdings were predominantly distributed around Western, Northern and South Eastern parts of Malta, with 2,514 holdings originating in the Western district.
Arable land amounted to 72.5% of the total utilised agricultural area, while permanent crops and kitchen gardens made up the remaining 8.9 and 18.6% respectively. Arable land and permanent crops cultivation areas has however, seen a decrease.
The figure of cattle population has also seen a decline in 2020, that of 7.9%. In 2020, Malta had a total of 241 cattle farms with a cattle population of 14,447 cows, 5,996 being used specifically for dairy. Cattle farms also decreased since 2010, from 291 to 241.
A total of one million poultry heads was recorded in 2020; of which, 696,010 (67.3%) were broilers This population decreased by 17.7% over that of 2010 when 846,143 heads were recorded.
Malta’s agricultural labour force consisted of 13,511 persons, with 13.3% said that they worked for 1,800 hours or more. 86.7%, the majority, said that they worked for less hours. 57.9% of the workers were over the age of 55 in 2020.