From Ideas to Action – Preparing for Malta’s Agri-Tech Ideathon

On the 23rd of September 2025, the MaYA Agri-Tech Ideathon community gathered online for the second preparatory webinar in the lead-up to the in-person event on October 3rd. The session, introduced by Christian Borg, set the tone: this wasn’t just about discussing problems - it was about moving towards practical, co-created solutions for Malta’s agriculture.

Setting the Stage

Christian reminded participants that the webinar was designed to build momentum for the ideathon, where teams will soon roll up their sleeves and shape ideas into tangible prototypes. Picking up from the first webinar, Neil Joseph Tirchett restated Malta’s three central agricultural challenges:

• Land access – limited by disputes, abandoned plots, and high costs.

  
  

• Market access and digital integration – where small-scale farmers often work through intermediaries, but face challenges when digital tools or fairer models are missing.

  
  

• Climate and water resilience – a pressing issue in one of Europe’s most water-stressed nations.

  
  

Neil pointed to national data sources like the NSO Agricultural Census 2020, which shed light on land use and underline the urgency of tackling these structural issues.

Voices Around the Table

The session quickly shifted into solution mode, with participants sharing a range of ideas and experiences.

On land access, there was strong support for incentives that protect farmland for agricultural use and for exploring cooperative models where farmers can pool machinery, knowledge, and other resources. This kind of shared approach was seen as a way to lower costs and strengthen community ties among smallholders.

When it came to market access and digital integration, suggestions included improving on already existing online marketplace apps to connect farmers directly with buyers, alongside practical training to help farmers build digital skills. The discussion also acknowledged that intermediaries play an important role in the food chain, but highlighted the need for models that operate transparently and place farmers’ interests at the centre. Cooperative or community-driven structures were put forward as potential solutions.

On technology adoption, participants reflected on the role of EU-funded initiatives and the digital tools already available, such as geospatial systems and AI-driven platforms. It was noted that while these tools exist, many farmers struggle to access or apply them effectively. The idea of “technology brokers” or cooperatives acting as mediators between digital providers and farmers was raised as a way to bridge that gap.

The conversation around climate and water resilience focused on the reality of Malta’s limited irrigation coverage and increasingly unpredictable rainfall. Low-cost, app-based irrigation systems and local investment in drip technologies were discussed as practical ways to improve resilience, provided they remain accessible to small-scale farmers.

Finally, the group reflected on the importance of keeping solutions rooted in Malta’s context. Given the country’s small scale, “hyper-local” approaches - such as truly zero-kilometre agriculture - were seen as promising avenues, provided they are sensitive to the diverse needs of stakeholders, from farmers to consumers. Sustainability, it was agreed, should be understood in a broad sense, spanning environmental, social, cultural, and economic dimensions.

This phase of the ideathon builds directly on Agrifusion, an outreach study carried out earlier in the project, authored by Emanuela de Giorgio (The Veg Box) with support from Weave Consulting. That study played a key role in shaping the ideathon’s structure and identifying the three main agricultural challenges under discussion. [Read the full report here › www.maya.org.mt/resources/agrifusion]

---

The main event is happening on Friday the 3rd of October at the state-of-the-art DiHubMT in Birkirkara. Registration is open until Wednesday 1st of October.