The planning authority has commenced the process of consolidating policies applicable to land use outside the development zones (ODZs) into one policy document. This includes policies applicable to agriculture.
This review exercise has various declared objectives and, possibly, some undeclared ones too. One particular declared objective deals with agritourism and announces that it aims “to provide new opportunities for agricultural diversification by farm gate sales, visitor attractions and agro-tourism accommodation.”
Encouraging agritourism is good policy, which is long overdue. It has, however, to be developed on the correct lines from day one. In particular, it should be driven by the requirements of agriculture. Certainly it should neither be tourism driven nor driven by the building construction industry.
Given that the first shot has been fired through a proposed review of land use planning policies it is clear that the initiatives being considered (declared and undeclared) have more to do with the building industry. This is more than just an impression.
Agritourism driven by agriculture can be an instrument for developing a sustainable rural development strategy. If properly planned, it can energise the agricultural community. In addition it may incentivise some part-time farmers to switch back to full-time mode.
Agritourism can be developed on the basis of agricultural activity. It immerses the tourist into an agricultural community. In view of the fact that most agritourism ventures are generally run by the farmers themselves assisted by their immediate families the tourist will never be just another number.
For his stay, a tourist will be part of the farmer’s family. This is just a small part of the unique experience of agritourism, irrespective of the length of stay: be it one day, one week or longer.
Most seek agritourism for their holidays in order to be away from the hustle and bustle of urban life. Agritourism can be linked with various other countryside and agricultural activities: grape collection, olive picking, grape/olive pressing, wine tasting, bird watching, country walks or horse riding all fit in with agritourism.
It is a niche neglected for quite a long time.
Agriculture-themed activities such as the Strawberry Festival held annually in Mġarr are also part of the wider appeal of agritourism. They lay the foundations for a much wider eco-tourism policy.
In Italy, agritourism was recognised in 1985. Almost 30 years down the line it is developed and appreciated as a contributor to rural development as well as to tourism. Statistics for the year 2010 reveal that just under 20,000 agritourism operators in Italy have placed 200,000 beds on the tourism market, an average of 10 beds per operator.
In Malta, developing agritourism almost from scratch is a unique opportunity. It is also a challenge because, for some, agritourism will be just another excuse which they will try to utilise to justify more building development. This is in my view one of the undeclared objectives of the policy review.
The ODZ policy review should aim to revitalise agriculture by providing farmers with the opportunity to increase their income through activities related to agriculture, including the provision of small scale accommodation.
Farm gate sales should be encouraged as should farmer-operated small restaurants offering local and traditional cuisine, making use of fresh produce, served directly from the farm to the fork.
Existing agricultural buildings validly built throughout the years should be properly utilised. There are quite a number of them, some having been abandoned years ago. If alterations to these buildings are required they should be considered, provided that the existing footprint of the buildings is not exceeded.
Agricultural buildings constructed illegally should not be sanctioned. Rather they should be demolished immediately.
It should be underlined that the ODZ review exercise should not be one which results in the shifting of bulldozers from an urban to a rural setting but, rather, one intended to utilise as efficiently as possible the current stock of agricultural holdings and, as a result, benefitting first agriculture and, as a consequence, tourism too.
If properly implemented, an agritourism policy will revitalise the agricultural community ensuring that its young generation takes charge, thereby halting its movement to other employment opportunities.
The process of revitalising agriculture through agritourism must be owned by the agriculture community in order to succeed. It must be ensured, as far as is possible, that greed and speculation, which have ruined our urban areas, converting most of them into urban concrete jungles, do not shift their attention to rural areas. The pressure to cash-in on vacant agricultural properties will be enormous but it must be overcome.
Encouraging agritourism is a unique opportunity to plan integrated rural development. The focal point of such development must be the agriculture community and the sustainable use of natural resources. Embedding environmental responsibilities in the revised and consolidated policies applicable outside the development zones would ensure that the Maltese farmer once more actively takes up his responsibilities as the custodian of the rural environment. This will be of great benefit not only to our present agricultural communities but future generations too.
published in The Times of Malta, Saturday September 21, 2013
Blog ta' Carmel Cacopardo 