Malta Sunripe Agri - Farmers
Agricultural Trends in Mgarr
Malta-Sunripe
is a farmers-owned company that has been set up with the aim to produce
traditional Maltese foodstuffs from local agricultural products.
Products include: sundried tomatoes – which are sunripe main product, aubergines in vegetable oil, artichoke hearts, pickled zucchini, capers, pickled onions, a Maltese paté called ‘Bigilla’ made from dried broad beans, hot chilli sauce and carob syrup. The latter is used in many recipes but most of all it is a health aid.
Sunripe also process and pack a range of olive products: our special stuffed olives with Malta-Sunripe sundried tomatoes, olives with fresh parsley and crushed garlic, olives in vegetable oil and dried garlic in jars, and stuffed olives with tuna and fresh garlic. We also make butter beans in fresh parsley, crushed garlic and crushed pepper and the traditional Maltese sheep cheeselets, commonly known as ‘Gbejniet’.
All Malta-Sunripe agri-products are of Maltese origin, mostly coming from the village of Mgarr. Mgarr is a typical agriculture village situated in the Northwest of the island of Malta. It has an agricultural area of about 1000 hectares lying in a natural valley. On the landward side Mgarr is surrounded by the towns of Rabat, Mosta, St.Paul’s Bay and Manikata, while to the West it is bordered by a coast boasting three of the most beautiful beaches in Malta – Gnejna Bay, Ghajn Tuffieha and Fomm ir-Rih.
Mgarr Village
Mgarr is one of the oldest villages in Malta as witnessed by
the two megalithic temples of Ta’ Hagrat and Skorba. Carbon testing on bones
and seeds found in situ ascertained that these remains date back to circa 3400
years B.C. with the Skorba phase dating back to 3600 B.C. In 1992 the Skorba
temples have been included in the World Heritage List under the UNESCO
convention. Historical artefacts and sites from all ages are scattered around
the village of Mgarr and its outskirts, be it pre-Christian, Punic or Roman as
well as the significant fortifications built under the rule of the Knights of
St. John and the British Empire. The geography of Mgarr, characterized by its
proximity to the sea and the Bingemma Basin lying between high ridges offered advantages
for settlers to set up an agricultural community.
Agricultural Trends in Mgarr
Typical fruit trees were also cultivated, namely peaches,
plums, prickly pears, apples, vines, olives and figs. Nowadays these trees are
grown less intensively as farmers are shifting to other crops. Up until the
recent past, the typical farmer in Mgarr was also a herder, and almost everyone
had a couple of cows, herds of sheep and goats, pigs, chickens and rabbits.
Most of the fodder produced by the farmers was consumed by the animals they
kept although grazing was a common practice.
Large quantities of potatoes are still produced in this area. Nowadays most of this produce is exported to foreign markets, mainly the Netherlands. During the dry season between May and September other crops were grown after the winter period. Arable farming without irrigation is exemplified by tomatoes, melons and watermelons. Nowadays these crops are irrigated using the drip system. The small size of the fields in Malta restricts the use of heavy machinery, consequently only small ploughers and tractors are used. The best part of the work is done manually, especially the harvesting and the grading, which is done on site in the field.
Traditional products and Maltese culinary heritage
Traditional products were made for the family and the local
market only and were mostly found in family-run village bars. Sundried
tomatoes, figs, crushed olives, aubergines in oil, ‘Bigilla’ and peppered sheep
cheeselets known as ‘Gbejniet tal-Bzar’ are a few. Together with a variety of
nuts these delicacies are an integral part of the Mediterranean diet and an
ideal accompaniment to wine and pre-dinner drinks.
The carob tree, as with citrus trees was introduced in Malta during the times of the Arabs. The carob syrup is used in a variety of recipes including desserts and sweets known as ‘Karamelli tal-Harrub’ which were very popular with children during a fast. Moreover carob syrup is an effective healing source against cough because of its medicinal properties.