Off the wire
• Ukraine imposes moratorium on debt payments to Russia  • News Analysis: New York meeting on Syria reflects fresh Russian-American understanding  • Foreign citizens account for less than 7 pct of EU population: Eurostat  • Czech army to commit more troops to NATO rapid response force  • Bayern Munich extend contracts of Mueller, Boateng, Martinez and Alonso  • Britain provides 10 mln USD in aid to Lebanese army  • U.S. stocks extend losses as oil weakness weighs  • U.S. regulator proposes tanning bed age restrictions  • Industry forum in Poland to discuss innovation, infrastructure development  • Ethiopian man endeavoring to take off his-own-made aircraft  
You are here: 　 Home

Malta launches rural development fund program

Xinhua, December 19, 2015 Adjust font size:

Maltese Deputy Prime Minister Louis Grech launched a six-year, 129-million-euro (140 million U.S. dollars) rural development fund program (RDP) for Malta on Friday.

Co-financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the Maltese government, the new RDP for the period 2014 to 2020 will see Malta receive around 97 million euros in EU funding to provide support to farmers on many levels.

It will also strengthen cooperation and innovation within the agricultural sector, while seeking to integrate primary producers into the food chain.

Grech said that in line "with the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) objectives, the EU rural development policy in the 2014-2020 period seeks to improve the competitiveness of agriculture, enhance the sustainable management of natural resources and climate action, and foster a balanced territorial development of rural areas."

Grech went on to say that 30 percent of the budget would be earmarked for actions which would contribute to the achievement of EU-wide climate change targets.

The RDP would support the startup of 60 young farmers, and the modernization of around 120 farms, with an emphasis on sustainability, he said.

Farm risk management measures will also be supported. Additionally, the program aims to foster development in rural areas and enhance accessibility, use and quality of information and communication technology (ICT) in rural areas, Grech said.

Furthermore, fostering knowledge transfer and technical advice in agriculture and rural areas during the programming period is another priority for Malta under EAFRD, in line with Malta's 2014-2020 rural development strategy, according to Grech. Endit