Summary

The pig sector in Malta was facing several challenges that where threating the livelihood of many famers. These included the exponential increase in costs of imported raw materials for feed and a spike in energy and water bills which led to the closing down of numerous small farms. Support from the Maltese rural development programme supported the construction of additional farm units, purchase of equipment including a cooling system to mitigate the heat in summer, construction of an underground reservoir, installation of photovoltaic panels.

Results

The system installed generated an annual average of 9 702 kWH contributing to a reduction of 22 % of his annual consumption.

This effectively also meant a reduction of 8 441 Kgs of CO2 emissions every year.

The modern and more efficient design and equipment led to improved air quality and less emissions through better manure management and handling.

The new structure also ensured adequate slurry storage facilities in order to prevent leakages that could contaminate the water table.