Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights Anton Refalo and Parliamentary Secretary for European Funds Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, have visited the Rural Roads Project at Triq l-Ghadira, Kercem, Gozo.

They expressed their satisfaction on the success of the implementation of Measure 4.3 with an investment of around €17 million in European funds under the Rural Development programme for Malta 2014-2020.

The Kercem Local Council project was one of the beneficiaries provided by this measure, receiving a grant of more than €300,000 for work on Triq l-Ghadira.

The Kercem project included a water catchment system, so that the road water collected can be used by farmers for agricultural purposes.

This measure covers investments in agricultural infrastructure where financial aid has been granted for the improvement of 195 rural roads around Malta and Gozo.

Around 3,000 farmers and growers are expected to benefit directly from these improvements across the islands, the Government said, with better access to fields and land for the farmers and herdsmen, as well as members of the general public who visit these various rural areas.

Minister Refalo explained that, “as we are now nearing the end of the 2014-2020 Rural Development Programme, this measure has been closed and no further calls for applications will be made.”

He went on to say that “the government is working hard to prepare the aid schemes that will cover the period 2021-2027 with a view to intervening where it is most needed in order to strengthen the sustainability of our agricultural sector, while also continuing to support as much as we can the farmers and villagers in our country.”

Parliamentary Secretary Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi explained that through European funds investment in the agricultural sector is being extended to the preservation and protection of the heritage of rural areas in general.

He added that this measure supported 28 local councils as direct beneficiaries and six local councils through interventions carried out by Infrastructure Malta.

For more information on these or other measures financed by European funds, please contact the Agricultural and Rural Payments Agency via email at arpa.mafa@gov.mt or telephone 22 926 148.

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