During the time when first tribes started to settle into settlement areas in the era from 15.000 up to 5.000 BC, agriculture made its first appearance on the earth's surface. Villages and later on cities were being born and civilization took over the times of primitive life bringing about a drastic change on the earth's surface. Since these early times of historical revolutions, people began discovering methods of cultivation of domesticated crops for food. Agricultural landscapes changed large parts of the original earth's natural habitats, bringing about changes on the biodiversity of species. Since the dawn of civilization, several changes in the biodiversity of agricultural landscapes occurred as natural species strived to co-exist with modified agricultural species and natural settings. This field of agricultural biodiversity is a very wide one and has been attracting scientists around the world due to the diversity of species that one often comes across. As the complex processes of farming systems and the healthy functioning of agricultural ecosystems become more understood by scientists all over the world, agricultural practices continue to turn into an evolving and sophisticated technology that seeks to integrate with natural systems.

Agriculture is still dominated by conventional methods although more environment friendly methods such as organic agriculture are ever on the increase.

Malta is the smallest of all the European countries. The Maltese Archipelago consists of three islands (Malta 250 sq. km, Gozo 64 sq. km, Comino 2.5 sq. km) and several uninhabited islets, of which Filfla and Cominotto are the largest. The Maltese Islands have a high population density at 1200 persons per sq.km. The mostly rocky coastline of the Maltese Islands has many sandy bays, particularly found in the largest island.

Geologically, the islands are composed almost entirely of marine sedimentary rocks, mainly limestone. There are also some minor quaternary deposits of terrestrial origin. The five main rock types are:

• Lower Coralline Limestone that is exposed to a thickness of 140 m.
• Globigerina Limestone exposed to a thickness ranging from 23 m to 207 m and subdivided into three units (Lower, Middle and Upper Globigerina Limestone) by two pebble beds.
• Blue Clay, exposed to thickness of up to 65 m.
• Greensand, exposed to a maximum thickness of 12 m.
• Upper Coralline Limestone, exposed to a thickness of 162 m.

Soils

The soils of the Maltese Islands are characterized by their close similarity to the parent rock material, their relatively young age, the ineffectiveness of the climate in producing soil horizon development, and the great importance of human activities in modifying them.

Maltese soils are of three main types:

• Terra Soils that are relic soils formed during the Pleistocene and which are little affected by the present climate. They are mature and extensively weathered, have a comparatively low calcium carbonate content, and are also low in organic matter. Terra soils develop on karstland.
• Xerorendzinas, which are immature, soils with a high calcium carbonate content and low in organic matter. These develop on weathered Globigerina Limestone and on valley deposits.
• Carbonate Raw Soils which are also immature and which have a very high calcium carbonate content and are very low in organic matter. These develop on weathered quaternary sandstones, Greensand, the lower beds of the Upper Coralline Limestone, Blue Clay and on Globigerina Limestone.

Soil complexes exist which have been formed by human action: either by mixing of powdered rock with already existing soil at the time fields were laid out, or by the addition of rock debris to soil during reclamation of disused quarries, or by mixing domestic waste with soil for use in land reclamation or by mixing of different soil types transported from different localities.

The Agricultural land in Malta or the total land declared by farmers, is classified into three categories as follows:

• Dry-farmed land (Raba' baghli) that is land that depends exclusively on rainwater for irrigation of crops, but may be watered on a few occasions.
• Irrigated land (Raba' saqwi) that is land that has a continuous supply of water all year round and is irrigated by water from sources other than rainwater.
• Unutilised/garigue land (Raba' Moxa), which is a term, used to describe all non-productive registered agricultural land.

The sum of the first two categories represents the total agricultural land area that is further subdivided into uncultivated land and utilized agricultural area (UAA) that includes arable land,

There are three major types of agriculture activity on the Maltese islands, mainly associated with:

1. Irrigated land where the intensive cultivation of fruitsand vegetables such as new potatoes, salad crops,tomatoes, artichokes etc., fruit and vines occurs. This type of farming has grown with the development of tourism to meet the demand for fresh high value food.
   
   
   
2. Dry farming practices on land that depends exclusively on rainfall. Traditionally these areas were farmed using a 3-year rotation. Year 1 potatoes or onions, Year 2 cereals, wheat or barley. Year 3 legumes such as Sulla (Hedysarum coronarium) as a fodder crop. Year 4 potatoes or onions.
   
   
   
3. Livestock farming is based mainly on the intensive production of swine, rabbit, poultry and egg production for which Malta is self sufficient, and cattle mainly for dairy production and beef products whose supply remains insufficient to meet local demand.

The position of the Maltese Islands, in the very centre of the Mediterranean, makes the composition of the flora and fauna particularly interesting since one can derive relationships with the biotic components of other parts of the Mediterranean.

Each community type has its own peculiar characteristics which are the result of complex interactions between the various species which make it up together with a variety of nonbiological factors such as soil type, exposure to wind and water currents, insolation, slope, type of bedrock. In fact many species can give a clear indication of the ecological conditions of where they occur.

From the point of view of vegetation, Malta's most characteristic community is the so called sclerophyll series which is a dynamic system consisting of four main vegetation types of which the highest expression is the evergreen wood (bosk) dominated by trees such as Evergreen Oak (Ballut/Quercus ilex) and Aleppo Pine (Znuber/Pinus halepensis).

This particular community has practically disappeared from Malta and is represented by Forest remnants such as at Wardija and Imgiebah where very old oaks still exist. The second stage of the series is the maquis (makkja) which is dominated by a variety of small trees and large shrubs such as the Olive (Zebbug/Olea europaea), the Carob (Harrub/Ceratonia siliqua), the Lentisk (Deru/ Pistacia lentiscus) and several others. A particularly interesting maquis is that dominated by the Arar Tree (Gharghar/Tetraclinis articulata) which is Malta's National tree, now very rare, but which probably covered considerable tracts of land some hundreds of years ago. The maquis also includes a rich undergrowth of large herbs and lianas. Most of the maquis includes trees which were introduced in antiquity because of their usefulness. The third stage of the sclerophyll series is the garrigue (or garigue) which is the most characteristic of the Maltese natural Communities. This typically thrives on coralline limestone plateaux and slopes and is dominated by a variety of low small-leaved shrubs such as the Mrediterranean Thyme (Saghtar/Thymbra capitata), Mediterranean Heath (Erika/Erica multiflora) and the endemic Maltese Spurge (Tenghud tax-Xaghri).

There are various types of garrigue which may be dominated by one or other species. Particularly noteworthy is the garrigue dominated by Tree Spurge (Tenghud tas- Sigra/Euphorbia dendroides) which occurs on sloping rocks such as valley sides. The garrigue also harbours a very rich diversity of herbaceous plants of which the numerous orchids and irises are noteworthy. The garrigues are home to about 500 species of flowering plants, which is over half the total number of indigenous species in the Maltese Islands. The fourth stage is represented by the steppes which typically lack woody species but which nevertheless support a very high species diversity. It should be noted that these four stages of the sclerophyll series community form a dynamic system and each stage can change into another stage depending on the factors affecting the habitat.

Thus, much abandoned agricultural land has become transformed into maquis. In addition to the sclerophyll series, there are several other vegetation communities of which the most noteworthy are the coastal cliffs. Cliff communities are particularly important because they support most of the Maltese endemic and sub-endemic species including such important species as the Maltese Cliff Orache (Bjanka tal- Irdum/Cremnophyton lanfrancoi), Maltese Centaury (Widnet il-Bahar/Cheirolophus crassifolius) which is Malta's National plant, Maltese Salt-tree (Xebb/Darniella melitensis), Maltese Everlasting (Sempreviva ta' Ghawdex/Helichrysum melitense) and various others, most of which are protected.

Genista Foundation promotes human activities in the production of food that work with rather than against nature and where one is expected to look at the earth's ecological system in all its function, rather than treating an area as a single product system: the foundation works to cultivate, promote, encourage, foster, advance, publicise, ecologically friendly alternatives, services and products for Malta. Fields of organic farming in which organisation is active are: Organic / biodynamic farming. Organic herbs cultivation. Organic food processing, avoiding additives and harmful chemicals in processed food. Free range animal husbandry. Promoting the use of biodegradable material. Rain water collection and conservation techniques. Our contribution to this research project has been a learning experience and also a contribution in exposing what small islands can give too.

"It is remarkable that Maltese agriculture happens at all". Recognising the huge challenge for agriculture to exist at all on a small island where, water supply is always a worry and small scale farming is the norm. Through this project we have established ways on how to inform Maltese farmers to diversify, identify and grow alternative crops to establish a niche market for Maltese farmers in Europe and beyond.

Of around 11,000 hectares of agricultural land only one third is privately owned. Most of the land is used for growing dairy fodder.

Malta's dairy farms are characterised by high stocking density and no pastures. Well over half the dairy units stock fewer than fifty cows which are less efficient to run than larger units.

Improving the Maltese goat and sheep product has led to this being included in a national program to reintroduce local breeds with genetic improvement for better yield. Italy has managed to preserve some pure breed Maltese goats and sheep for their high productivity. Production could be expanded from gbejniet to milk, yoghurt and an ingredient in cosmetics.

Organic farming is a new word for our agriculture , but is also part of our tradition to survive our hot summer months and our way of adapting to harsh weather conditions. As a country we are still developing organic farming laws and regulations to be in line with EU regulations, but this does not mean that our farmers have not practiced organic farming. It has been practiced for hundreds of years without adding the word organic to it, methods of farming have been passed on from generation to generation, from farmers who experimented on the best conditions for their produce, on how to minimize their costs, saving our precious soil and cultivating fields using traditional means which are now termed as organic.

It is interesting to note that the majority of the farmers in Malta have been active in organic farming for just 0-3 years (73%), 13% for 8-11 years, 7% for 4 to 7 years and 7% more than 11 years. And 93% of the organic growers used to be conventional farmers in the past and 7% got in organic farming directly, so this is very encouraging.

We have also established that most of the farmers who have gone into organic farming have done so due to the following reasons: Health Problems seem to be the most important reason, which made farmers become organic growers. Concerns on appearing health problems with the use of chemicals and market demand have turned many Maltese farmers to organic agriculture . Environmental Concerns and Own Interest are the second main reasons. Market demands and Better Prospective appears to be of 3rd and 4th significance. Finally Better Income is the least important reason, considering that the market is still developing.

From the environment perspective, organic farming is important to decrease soil and groundwater pollutants. Good farming practices such as the decrease of intensive agriculture can actually help to preserve the existent plant species diversity of the Maltese Islands. On one particular study on comparative plant diversity between organic and conventional settings, comparing the data collected, an actual difference in species diversity in all the areas studied was in fact established. A significant variation in species diversity could be considered as clearly evident as the organic agriculture site proved to sustain a considerably higher diversity of vegetation from the conventionally farmed and.

No less than 1264 different vascular plants grow only in Malta and the Mediterranean. With 458 of these being medicinal species the potential is high. The EU accepts use of the ten percent requirement of fallow land set aside to be used for growing medicinal or cosmetic plants.

This may be a good starting point for farmers with a main cash crop in the field to gain confidence by starting slowly on a small scale with new alternative crops. Some medicinal can thrive under poor conditions, so farmers could use the more fertile part of their land for the conventional crop. Government subsidies to farmers are so far restricted to the main crops with no incentive for farmers to grow medicinals or aromatics.

Some plants could be cultivated as functional foods for their components or metabolytes. Extracts from plants could be used in pharmaceutical dosages and non-edible plants could be grown for cosmetics. The humble tomato is an example of a high value crop which can meet all these different markets.

Domestication of wild species can be encouraged. Closer spacing of borage plants would effect seed production but not the marketable oil produced by this traditional healing plant used for coughs. It is important to find new products with no competititors. One example is the nettle which is used for the treatment of chilblains with no competitor in the conventional medicine market.

Mark Causon