The Project for the Revival of the Maltese Olive (PRIMO) is gathering momentum and the first 340 indigenous Maltese olive trees produced following the launch of the Project in January of last year are being planted in various localities in Malta and Gozo. A batch of 50 indigenous Maltese olive trees of the Bidnija variety was planted today by Bank of Valletta employees in Gudja during a press conference that was addressed by Sam Cremona who gave details about the progress being registered on the PRIMO project. The press conference was also addressed by the Hon. Dr Francis Agius, Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture and Fisheries and Charles Borg, Executive Head at the CEO's Office of Bank of Valletta.Parliamentary Secretary Dr Francis Agius said that the PRIMO project is an excellent example of collaboration between a private individual, Bank of Valletta and the Government through the Department of Agriculture. “We are pleased that the PRIMO project has delivered its first tangible results with successful grafting of 340 new indigenous Maltese olive trees that are now being planted in various localities in Malta which will serve to conserve a part of Malta’s agricultural heritage,” said Dr. Agius. He added that the Department of Agriculture was continuing to lend its support to the PRIMO project.
Dr. Agius said that PRIMO is a unique project. “The conservation of Maltese and Gozitan olive varieties will ensure that those varieties that have developed on these islands or which have been present for many years are not lost. This is also a conservation exercise that will permit the utilisation of such varieties on a commercial scale to complement other varieties which come mainly from Italy,” said Dr. Agius
Sam Cremona said that he was satisfied with the results of the first year of the PRIMO Project. “Whilst we would have liked to have more than 340 trees to plant this year, we still consider this result to be highly encouraging considering that these trees were grafted using imported rootstock which was not in its original habitat and, therefore, had to be acclimatized. Besides, the cuttings used to graft the rootstock were made from ancient trees and we were aware that the success rate would be impacted due to these factors”, stated Sam Cremona.
“What is significant is that these 340 trees, together with the 500 indigenous Maltese olive trees that were already on our register, are now giving us a very strong genetic bank of olive trees that will spearhead the future propagation of additional trees”. PRIMO Olive trees have to date been planted at various localities in Malta including Mġarr, Safi, Wardija, Żurrieq, Gudja, Żebbiegħ, Dwejra, Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq, Siġġiewi, Żebbuġ and Dingli.
Sam Cremona announced that the efforts are continuing this year and, following a longer acclimatization of the rootstock, over the past weeks, another 2,000 trees have been grafted. “Our first indications are that we will have a higher success rate”, continued Mr Cremona. “In subsequent years we hope that thanks to the strong genetic bank we have now put in place, we will be able to graft around 5,000 trees per year,” said Mr. Cremona.
Charles Borg said that the PRIMO Project underlined Bank of Valletta’s support towards initiatives that seek to contribute towards the improvement of the Maltese environment and that bring forward the Maltese tradition. “Bank of Valletta believes that this project will have a sustained positive environmental impact and is thus extending its full support towards this initiative. The overwhelming interest in the project received during the first year and the success being achieved in this year's grafting encourage us to continue to put our full weight behind this initiative,” said Mr. Borg.
Mr. Borg said that, following the launch of PRIMO, the Bank had undertaken a survey to assess demand for Maltese olive trees and the response from the public was outstanding. “Over 250 Maltese and Gozitan people declared their expression of interest to plant indigenous Maltese olive trees on their land with the aim of producing monocultivar Maltese olive oil and related products. Collectively, these applicants indicated that they are willing to plant over 13,700 olive trees. Today, we are witnessing an important development that should form the basis for the further success of the PRIMO project,” concluded Mr. Borg.
