From Ideas to Action - What the MaYA Agri-Tech Ideathon Unlocked for Malta’s Rural Future

On the 3rd of October 2025, the MaYA Agri-Tech Ideathon at DiHubMT brought together farmers, tech minds, students, NGOs, and public sector representatives to imagine a different future for Maltese agriculture.

A few weeks later, with time to reflect on the discussions, one thing is clear: the event did far more than generate “nice ideas”. It surfaced concrete directions for how Malta can use digital tools and AI to tackle stubborn problems around land access, market access & digital integration, and climate & water resilience.

This closing blog takes a look at what emerged from the five working groups, the winning idea, and what comes next for the MaYA Foundation within the PoliRuralPlus project.

Five Working Groups, Five Angles on the Same Big Puzzle

Participants were split into five mixed teams, each working with farmers’ insights, design-thinking tools, and gentle nudging to think “AI where it adds value, not AI for its own sake.”

1 - Access to Agricultural Land – “From Soil to Society”

One group focused on Access to Agricultural Land, exploring how to “make Malta green again” by looking beyond individual fields and thinking in terms of land as shared infrastructure for food security.

Their conversation circled around:

• High land prices and speculative use of agricultural land

• Underused plots and greenhouses that could be put back into productive use

• The need for better data, education, and public engagement on how land is used

  
  

Rather than a single app, the group imagined a more systemic approach: better visibility on available land, more transparent rules, and space for citizens and farmers to co-shape future land use.

2 - Market Access & Digital Integration – Go(v) Local First (Team 2A – Winning Idea)

Two teams worked on Market Access & Digital Integration, looking at how to make local food more visible, more accessible, and more fairly valued.

The winning team, 2A, developed the Go(v) Local First initiative – a concept that positions government as a leading customer and champion of local food.

The core idea is simple but powerful:If public institutions (schools, hospitals, homes for the elderly, public canteens, government events, etc.) consistently prioritise local produce in their food procurement, several things happen at once:

• Farmers see stable, predictable demand and are more motivated to invest

• Children, patients, and workers have healthier, fresher meals

• The local economy keeps more value within Malta and Gozo

• Greener spaces, trees, and local production support climate and community wellbeing

  
  

Digital tools and AI would support this by helping to match seasonal supply with institutional demand, maintain a database of local products, and share recipes, nutritional information, and farmer stories in a user-friendly way.

The judges selected Go(v) Local First as the winning concept because it:

• Tackles a root problem (demand and recognition for local produce)

• Uses technology in a practical, supportive role rather than as a gimmick

• Is clearly grounded in the Maltese context, where public procurement plays a big role in shaping markets

• Has strong potential for policy impact and real implementation

3 - Market Access & Digital Integration – Smart Cooperative Tools (Team 2B)

The second team in this focus area looked at the pressures Maltese farmers face from lower-cost international competitors, particularly in livestock.

Their idea centred on a cooperative, AI-supported monitoring tool for farmers – especially pig producers – to help track animal welfare indicators, feed and water use, and farm performance.

The aim:

• Make it easier and cheaper to collect and use data,

• Support benchmarking across cooperatives, and

• Improve both efficiency and welfare standards, giving local producers a stronger story when they enter the market.

Again, the emphasis was not on replacing farmers’ knowledge, but on giving them better information to compete in a tight market.

4 - Climate & Water Resilience – Smarter Water Use (Team 3A)

One of the climate-focused groups took on Malta’s most familiar agricultural headache: water scarcity.

Their concept imagined an AI-supported rainwater collection and distribution network, where sensors and forecasting tools help allocate water more efficiently across different farming areas.

In their vision:

• Farmers would gain more reliable access to water

• Soil health and yields could improve

• The pressure on groundwater and the wider environment would be reduced

  
  

The idea stays at a high level, but points toward the kind of infrastructure-plus-data approach that could make a real difference in a dry, densely populated island state.

5 - Climate & Water Resilience – Farming with Nature, Not Against It (Team 3B)

The final group zoomed out to ask a more uncomfortable question:Why are farmers often forced to choose short-term survival over long-term soil and ecosystem health?

Their discussions highlighted:

• Degraded soils and over-reliance on inputs

• Knowledge gaps and limited access to locally relevant information on regenerative practices

• A sense of isolation and distrust among farmers, making collaboration harder

Their idea was less about a single product and more about building knowledge and collaboration systems that use AI to:

• Support better market predictions (so farmers know what to grow and when)

• Share regenerative farming know-how tailored to Malta’s conditions

• Create a social layer where farmers can learn from each other, not just from external experts

It’s a reminder that digital tools can also be used to strengthen relationships and shared learning, not just transactions.

What We Learned Across All Teams

Although each group approached a different angle, some clear cross-cutting themes emerged:

• Demand matters as much as supply - From Go(v) Local First to cooperative tools and market prediction, teams repeatedly came back to the idea that farmers need clear, fair, and stable demand for local products.

  
  

• AI is most useful when it’s invisible - Participants weren’t interested in flashy tech for its own sake. They wanted AI and digital tools that quietly support matching, forecasting, monitoring, and storytelling – helping humans make better decisions.

  
  

• Data + trust = change - Whether it was land mapping, water allocation, or benchmarking farm performance, the conversation always returned to the need for good data, shared transparently, and trusted relationships between farmers, institutions, and policymakers.

  
  

• Education and mindset shifts are essential - Many ideas touched on education – of consumers, young people, and farmers themselves – and the need to rethink how we value local produce, soil health, and rural livelihoods.

Beyond the Ideathon: What’s Next?

The MaYA Agri-Tech Ideathon was designed, within the PoliRuralPlus Mobilise Call, not just as a one-off event but as a starting point:

• The results of all five teams, together with feedback from participants and judges, will feed into the final country report and into ongoing discussions on Malta’s rural and agricultural strategy.

  
  

• The Go(v) Local First concept will be further explored with relevant stakeholders, including farmers, cooperatives, and public bodies, to understand where pilots or collaborations might make sense.

• Other ideas – from smart water networks to cooperative AI tools and regenerative knowledge platforms – will remain part of MaYA’s wider innovation agenda, ready to connect with future funding opportunities, partnerships, and youth-led initiatives.

Above all, the ideathon confirmed that farmers, youth, tech developers, and policymakers are ready to sit at the same table and co-create solutions that are ambitious, grounded, and context-specific.

As MaYA, we will continue to nurture this community, keep the conversation alive, and look for practical ways to move from post-its and canvases to pilots and long-term change.

---

The MaYA Agri-Tech Ideathon was organised by the MaYA Foundation as part of the PoliRuralPlus Mobilise Call.

This activity has received funding from the PoliRuralPlus project, which is funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101136910. The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.