Minister addresses EU agricultural council in Sweden
Rural affairs and resources minister George Pullicino yesterday addressed the EU’s agricultural ministers’ council meeting in Vaxjo, Sweden on the subject of climate change and agriculture.
Malta’s agricultural sector contributes just 2% of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
Pullicino said despite its low rate of emissions, Maltese agriculture was still imperilled by the effects of climate change, and called for a better management of water resources and to combat drought. “The scarcity of water is threatening the Mediterranean and can bring serious consequences to farmers,” Pullicino said.
He said the construction of more reservoirs and other water conservation measures had to be accompanied by more research.
Pullicino also brought up the need to introduce carbon labelling on consumer food products. He said consumers wanted to know which products were producing fewer greenhouse gases through transportation and packaging.
“Consumer choices can reward production methods that fight climate change, but only if they have clear and precise information,” Pullicino said.
The minister said farming had an important role in the mitigation of greenhouse gases, through better use of fertilisers, a more efficient system to feed animals, better management of farmhouses and waste separation and the use of biogas.
Pullicino said that the Maltese government’s national plan for rural development has placed great importance on investment measures that improve farmhouses and render energy consumption more efficient.
He said he expected the EU to further this investment with additional financial programmes, particularly in the milk production sector.
He added that more priority should be placed on research into new animal and plant diseases that could spread as a result of climate change, to avoid damage to entire agricultural communities.
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