Malta
• General country description
• A. First pillar: implementation of CAP reforms (2003)
• B. Second pillar: implementation of RDP measures during 2007-2013
• C. Vision for the CAP beyond 2013: a short overview of the debate (at Member State level) on future CAP reform
• D. Literature, sources, references
• The comparative analysis provides a compact overview of CAP implementation across all 27 Member States and their visions of the future of the CAP
General country discription
Malta |
Comparison with EU-25 |
Population, 2005 (*1,000,000): 0.4 |
0.1% of population in EU-25 |
Population density, 2003 (inh./km2): 1,263 |
118 in EU-25 |
GDP/capita, 2005 (PPS): 16,200 |
69% of GDP/capita in EU-25 |
Share agriculture in total employment, 2002 (%): 2 |
5% in EU-25 |
Share Utilized Agricultural Area in total land area, 2003 (%): 34 |
46% in EU-25 in 1998 |
Average farm size, 2005 (ha): 1.2 |
19 in EU-15 |
Number of farms, 2005 (*1000): 7.2 |
0.1% of farms in EU-25 |
Source: own calculations based on Eurostat
Distribution of farming types, 2005 (% of total)
Source: own calculations based on Eurostat
EU funding for the Single Payment Scheme (SPS)
and the second pillar, 2007-2013
Funding according to CAP budget including Bulgaria and Romania.
Sources: Agra Europe (2007); CEU (2006); EC (2007a)
A. First pillar: implementation CAP reform (2003)
A.1 Single Payment Scheme
Model
Malta does not apply the SAPS system, they applied the, 'old' flat-rate model from 2007.
Coupling measures
- Full decoupling,
- Separate sugar payment,
- EU-funding is 40% of EU-15 level in 2007; nationally-funded (up to 30% of EU-15 level) to be paid per hectare.
Source: AGRA FACTS (No. 18-07):Summary of different CAP Single Payment Scheme (SPS) models applied in EU Member States in 2007 c.
Reason for selection
No information
A.2 EU budget for Single Payment Scheme (SPS) per year (National ceiling) 2005-2013
Source: 2005: EC (2006); 2006-2013: CEU (2006) and Agra Europe (2007)
Tradability of SPS
No information
A.3 Cross-compliance: Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC)
(Source: IEEP 2005;)
Selected standards of the GAEC
Issue |
Standards |
Summary of farmers' obligations
|
Soil erosion |
Minimum soil cover |
|
|
minimum land management reflecting site-specific conditions |
No sheet, rill or erosion gullies must be present Always plough parallel to contours |
|
retain terraces |
Preserved and maintained in good state |
soil organic matter |
standards for crop rotation where applicable |
Crops belonging to the same botanical family should not be grown successively in the same year |
|
arable stubble management |
Not to be bruned in the field, stubble should not be ploughed before mid-August. |
Soil structure |
Machinery use |
No machinery use when soil is flooded or water saturated |
protection of permanent pastures |
|
|
Minimum level of maintenance |
retention of landscape features (lf) |
Indigenous trees should not be uprooted |
|
avoiding the encroachment of unwanted vegetation on agricultural land |
Unwanted vegetation to be controlled trhough the use of appropriate weed control measures |
|
EXTRA: Olive grooves |
Olive grooves should be maintained in good condition |
A.4 Further reform of market regulations
No information.
B. Second pillar: implementation of RDP measures 2007-2013
B.1 Programme level and approval
There is one national RDP. The Rural Development Committee (consisting of representatives of the 27 Member States) has approved the RDP for Malta on 20 December 2007.
B.2 Distribution of public budget over the axes (%) 1)
axis 1: competitiveness |
axis 2: environment and land management |
axis 3: rural economy |
Axis 4: Leader |
36 |
26 |
34 |
4 |
1) Figures excluding Technical Assistance
Source: Own calculations based on Republic of Malta (2007)
B.3 Integration of Leader in axes 1, 2 and 3
Leader contributes mainly to axis 3.
B.4 Local Action Groups (LAGs)
Given the islands' small size, no more than 3 LAGs are expected to form the regional set-up (Republic of Malta, 2007).
B.5 RDP budget 2007-2013 (million euros)
total public budget |
% co-financing EAFRD1) |
EAFRD budget |
Contribution private sector |
Total costs |
National top-ups |
100.3 |
76 |
76.6 |
48.5 |
148.7 |
0 |
1) % of co-financing may vary per axis
Source: Republic of Malta (2007)
B.6 Less Favoured Areas
In 2005, 100% of the Utilized Agricultural Area (UAA) (10,000 ha) was classified as Less Favoured Area (LFA) (CEU, 2005). In the RDP 8,500 ha is designed as areas with handicaps other than mountain areas (Republic of Malta, 2007: 210).
B.7 Drivers of RDP strategy
Fit within national policy.
Relevant policy documents are the 2006-10 Pre-Budget Document, the National Reform Programme (Lisbon Agenda), the National Strategic Reference Framework and the Rural Strategy Topic Paper (Republic of Malta, 2007).
C. Vision on the CAP beyond 2013
No information
D. Literature, sources, references
- Agra Europe (2007), "Threat of SFP cuts rises as NMS accede", Agra Europe Weekly, January 12
- Council of the European Union (CEU) (2005), Proposal for a Council Regulation on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) - redefinition of intermediate less-favoured areas, Brussels, Working Party on Agricultural Structures and Rural Development, working document (7971/05), 15 April
- Council of the European Union (CEU) (2006), Council Regulation 1782/2003 (consolidated version - August 5, 2006), Annex VIII and VIIIa, Brussels
- European Commission (EC) (2006), 35th Financial Report on the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund, Guarantee section, 2005 Financial Year, SEC(2006)1152
- European Commission (EC) (2007a), EU support for rural development 2007-2013; Pre-allocated funding under Heading 2 "Natural Resources" of the Financial Framework, Brussels: European Commission
- European Commission (EC) (2007b), Overview of the implementation of direct payments under the CAP in Member States Version February 2007, EC, DG for Agriculture and Rural Development
- Republic of Malta (2007), Rural Development Programme for Malta 2007-2013, version December 2007
