IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agiwat/v229y2020ics0378377419300393.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Multi-stakeholder analysis to improve agricultural water management policy and practice in Malta

Author

Listed:
  • D’Agostino, D.
  • Borg, M.
  • Hallett, S.H.
  • Sakrabani, R.S.
  • Thompson, A.
  • Papadimitriou, L.
  • Knox, J.W.

Abstract

Malta faces a raft of water challenges which are negatively impacting on the sustainability of irrigated agriculture, and creating serious tensions with other sectors competing for water, including urban development, tourism and the environment. In this paper we argue for a transparent process centred on participatory stakeholder engagement to agree on the most challenging water-related risks and to identify solutions that both support the water governance framework and improve on-farm water management practices. Given Malta’s dependence on freshwater, this study focused on outdoor field-scale irrigated production. A three staged stakeholder-driven approach was developed. The first stage included Delphi analyses to identify the key constraints on water management and fuzzy cognitive mapping to enable stakeholders to analyse their mental models and formalise conceptual and causal relationships between different components impacting on Maltese agriculture. Secondly, questionnaires were used to inform understanding of national policy gaps in water management and thirdly, a “backcasting” stakeholder workshop was used to identify policy actions to achieve a more sustainable future for agriculture on the island. The study confirmed that Malta’s core challenge is tied to poor water governance and the need to define policies that are socially and environmentally acceptable and geared to tackling the complex water challenges the agricultural sector faces. Developing support for farmer training, knowledge translation, greater public awareness of the importance and value of water for high-value crop production and multi-sector collaboration to promote shared opportunities for water infrastructure investment were highlighted as potential solutions. The findings have direct relevance to other island communities where water scarcity poses serious agronomic risks to production and where agriculture underpins rural livelihoods and the economy.

Suggested Citation

  • D’Agostino, D. & Borg, M. & Hallett, S.H. & Sakrabani, R.S. & Thompson, A. & Papadimitriou, L. & Knox, J.W., 2020. "Multi-stakeholder analysis to improve agricultural water management policy and practice in Malta," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:229:y:2020:i:c:s0378377419300393
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2019.105920
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377419300393
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agwat.2019.105920?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alcon, Francisco & Tapsuwan, Sorada & Martínez-Paz, José M. & Brouwer, Roy & de Miguel, María D., 2014. "Forecasting deficit irrigation adoption using a mixed stakeholder assessment methodology," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 183-193.
    2. Jenny Rowley, 2014. "Designing and using research questionnaires," Management Research Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 37(3), pages 308-330, March.
    3. Mathijs Vliet & Kasper Kok, 2015. "Combining backcasting and exploratory scenarios to develop robust water strategies in face of uncertain futures," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 43-74, January.
    4. Saliba, R. & Callieris, R. & D’Agostino, D. & Roma, R. & Scardigno, A., 2018. "Stakeholders’ attitude towards the reuse of treated wastewater for irrigation in Mediterranean agriculture," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 60-68.
    5. Elisabeth Conrad & Louis F. Cassar, 2014. "Decoupling Economic Growth and Environmental Degradation: Reviewing Progress to Date in the Small Island State of Malta," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(10), pages 1-22, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Perez-Quesada, Gabriela & Hendricks, Nathan P., 2021. "Lessons from local governance and collective action efforts to manage irrigation withdrawals in Kansas," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
    2. Lindsey Hartfiel & Michelle Soupir & Rameshwar S. Kanwar, 2020. "Malta’s Water Scarcity Challenges: Past, Present, and Future Mitigation Strategies for Sustainable Water Supplies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-17, November.
    3. Playán, Enrique & Čereković, Nataša & Marković, Mihajlo & Vaško, Željko & Vekić, Marinko & Mujčinović, Alen & Čadro, Sabrija & Hajder, Đurađ & Šipka, Milan & Bećirović, Emir & Musić, Osman & Grahić, J, 2024. "A roadmap to consolidate research and innovation in agricultural water management in Bosnia and Herzegovina," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).
    4. Maleki, Tahereh & Koohestani, Hossein & Keshavarz, Marzieh, 2022. "Can climate-smart agriculture mitigate the Urmia Lake tragedy in its eastern basin?," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    5. Drew, Mark & Crase, Lin, 2023. "‘More Crop per Drop’ and water use efficiency in the National Water Policy of Pakistan," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nelson, Ewan & Warren, Peter, 2020. "UK transport decoupling: On track for clean growth in transport?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 39-51.
    2. Bolinches, Antonio & Blanco-Gutiérrez, Irene & Zubelzu, Sergio & Esteve, Paloma & Gómez-Ramos, Almudena, 2022. "A method for the prioritization of water reuse projects in agriculture irrigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 263(C).
    3. Mohammad Ali Yamin, 2021. "Investigating the Drivers of Supply Chain Resilience in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Empirical Evidence from an Emerging Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-16, October.
    4. Lange, Steffen & Pohl, Johanna & Santarius, Tilman, 2020. "Digitalization and energy consumption. Does ICT reduce energy demand?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    5. Danie SCHUTTE & Danelle LABUSCHAGNE & Maria-Andrada GEORGESCU & Cornelia POP, 2019. "An evaluation of the turnover tax system in South Africa," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania / Editura Economica, vol. 0(3(620), A), pages 59-70, Autumn.
    6. Mohammad Ali Yousef Yamin & Omima Abdalla Abass Abdalatif, 2024. "Examining consumer behavior towards adoption of quick response code mobile payment systems: transforming mobile payment in the fintech industry," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-11, December.
    7. Raja R. Timilsina & Yoshinori Nakagawa & Koji Kotani, 2020. "Exploring the Possibility of Linking and Incorporating Future Design in Backcasting and Scenario Planning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-14, November.
    8. Tilman Santarius & Johanna Pohl & Steffen Lange, 2020. "Digitalization and the Decoupling Debate: Can ICT Help to Reduce Environmental Impacts While the Economy Keeps Growing?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-20, September.
    9. Yohannes Mekonnen Yesuf & Demis Alamirew Getahun & Asemamaw Tilahun Debas, 2024. "Determinants of employees’ creativity: modeling the mediating role of organizational motivation to innovate," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 1-25, December.
    10. Sarkki, Simo & Pihlajamäki, Mia, 2019. "Baltic herring for food: Shades of grey in how backcasting recommendations work across exploratory scenarios," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 200-209.
    11. Dawn Joseph & Caroline Niekerk, 2021. "Particip-active Musical Performance: Quality of Life at a Seniors’ Village in South Africa," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 16(2), pages 723-737, April.
    12. Rouzaneh, Davoud & Yazdanpanah, Masoud & Jahromi, Arman Bakhshi, 2021. "Evaluating micro-irrigation system performance through assessment of farmers' satisfaction: implications for adoption, longevity, and water use efficiency," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    13. Delzeit, Ruth & Heimann, Tobias & Schünemann, Franziska & Söder, Mareike, 2021. "Scenarios for an impact assessment of global bioeconomy strategies: Results from a co-design process," Kiel Working Papers 2188, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    14. Horrillo, A. & Escribano, M. & Mesias, F.J. & Elghannam, A. & Gaspar, P., 2016. "Is there a future for organic production in high ecological value ecosystems?," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 114-125.
    15. Schanes, Karin & Jäger, Jill & Drummond, Paul, 2019. "Three Scenario Narratives for a Resource-Efficient and Low-Carbon Europe in 2050," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 70-79.
    16. Sipan Li & Qunxi Gong & Shaolei Yang, 2019. "Analysis of the Agricultural Economy and Agricultural Pollution Using the Decoupling Index in Chengdu, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-11, October.
    17. Fernández, J.E. & Alcon, F. & Diaz-Espejo, A. & Hernandez-Santana, V. & Cuevas, M.V., 2020. "Water use indicators and economic analysis for on-farm irrigation decision: A case study of a super high density olive tree orchard," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 237(C).
    18. David Hillier & Daphne Comfort & Peter Jones, 2017. "The Packaging Industry and Sustainability," Athens Journal of Business & Economics, Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER), vol. 3(4), pages 405-426, October.
    19. Giacomo Giannoccaro & Ruggiero Sardaro & Rossella de Vito & Luigi Roselli & Bernardo C. de Gennaro, 2020. "Politiche di gestione della risorsa idrica sotterranea a fini irrigui. Analisi delle preferenze degli agricoltori," Economia agro-alimentare, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 22(2), pages 1-27.
    20. Deh-Haghi, Zoherh & Bagheri, Asghar & Fotourehchi, Zahra & Damalas, Christos A., 2020. "Farmers’ acceptance and willingness to pay for using treated wastewater in crop irrigation: A survey in western Iran," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 239(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:229:y:2020:i:c:s0378377419300393. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agwat .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.