From MaltaMedia.com

Organic Farming Committee set up
By MM News
Apr 23, 2004, 20:02

The government on Friday set up a Committee for Organic Farming. Its aim is to set up a strategy for Organic Farming in the Maltese Islands. The committee is made up of various NGOs involved in organic farming in Malta, the Consumer Affairs Division - which represents the consumers' rights, the Malta Standards Authority - which represents the body being responsible for certification of organic products, and the Agricultural Services and Rural Development Division - which will act as the authority responsible for regulating the EU legislation of organic farming.

The committee is chaired by Dr Francis Agius, Parliamentary Secretary responsible for Agriculture and Fisheries, and it will be studying a report by two Italian experts from the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, which was provided for through a Framework contract within the 2002 National Program for Malta. The report studies the situation of organic farming in Malta, and suggests various ways for the sector to move forward. One of the outcomes of this report was the setting up of an Organic Farming Unit within the Parliamentary Secretariat responsible for Agriculture and Fisheries, whose aim is dedicated solely to the promotion of organic farming, and in regulating the sector.

During the meeting, Dr Francis Agius, presented the members of the committee with a copy of the new Organic Farming Regulations which will be published by the 1st of May. During his address to the committee, Dr. Agius said that he is optimistic that this committee will perform well its main objective and to see that this sector will improve in the near future.

These regulations will implement the Council Regulation 2092/91 on organic farming. It will also create for the first time in Malta, a setup which will allow the certification of Maltese organic products. It is probably the most important step in the setting up of an organic farming sector in the Maltese Islands since this regulation creates the standards and methods of production for the whole sector.

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