Rural Pact News
Jan. 13, 2026
Exhange of Communications with the Director of Agriculture about the Rural Pact:
Mr. Magro,
In response to the query submitted to the PS, please find the reply below:
The EU Rural Pact, part of the Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas, serves as a collaborative framework aimed at strengthening rural communities, promoting balanced territorial development, and ensuring rural considerations are embedded in policymaking. It encourages Member States to adopt strategies that make rural areas vibrant, resilient, and sustainable through inclusive governance and integrated funding.
Unlike most Member States, Malta faces a unique challenge where the proximity of urban areas poses a threat to rural spaces due to our small size and high population density. While other countries focus on making rural areas attractive to counter depopulation, our priority is protecting what remains of our rural land. The ministry is working to ensure this is included in Malta's Horizontal policies by embedding rural proofing as a core policy filter.
The recently introduced Protection of Agricultural Land Regulations complement the Rural Pact. These measures will help safeguard agricultural land from speculative misuse and urban sprawl, reinforcing the Pact’s objectives of sustainable rural development. The Agriculture Directorate is planning consultation sessions on agricultural policy and land protection seminars during the next AgriFair. Both are important tools for advocating rural proofing within the EU framework.
Regarding the appointment of the cooperative as the main contact point for the Rural Pact, while we appreciate the interest, given that this is a more holistic policy, the contact point should be an entity with an overarching mandate which will be communicated in due time.
Regards,
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Dear Mr. Dimech,
We refer to your email dated 7th January 2026 on the subject of the EU Rural Pact.
The Cooperative appreciates the initiatives being taken by the Ministry. It was for this reason that the Cooperative proposed that Malta should subscribe to the Rural Pact. This would provide visibility to the actions being taken locally, and also receive EU recognition at EU level.
The Ministry could always argue or express reservations to any sections of the EU Rural Pact that do not apply to Malta; and also the EU Rural Pact encourages each Member State to draft its own Rural Pact based on the model of the EU Rural Pact.
Hence there are various options available for Malta in order to be active within the Rural Pact initiative.
Kind Regards
Jimmy Magro, President
Olive Growers Cooperative Limited - Malta
VAT NUMBER: MT30137201
MAILING ADDRESS: 10, Triq San Martin, Zebbug, Malta
