VALLETTA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Investment, implementation and innovation are the key features in ensuring the EU's sustainable water provision, EU Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Karmenu Vella stated on Tuesday.
Speaking at the EU Informal meeting of Agriculture Ministers in Malta, he added that agriculture ministers had been encouraged to focus on these priorities and objectives back home.
He added that all societies depend on water, and sustainable water management and agriculture are primary goals which cannot be achieved independently.
"Water is also crucial for the circular economy, and this is as true at a European level as it is on the global level," Vella said, adding the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) can deliver and also has an important greening aspect attached.
EU Commissioner for Agriculture and rural development Phil Hogan stated that water resource is a priority and that water protection and sustainable food production has been the focus of the Commission's work for the past year.
He added that a joint action plan has been agreed and the Commission is anxious to promote the use of funds available.
Maltese Permanent Secretary for Agriculture Roderick Galdes added that the long term strategic issues facing the agricultural sector primarily are the effects of climate change and water in agriculture.
He mentioned that the debate had focused on how the sector is likely to be affected by climate change scenarios.
Two key priorities that emerged from the discussion are that the CAP needs to continue to be aligned better and that the EU needs to ensure a more resilient agricultural sector.
Such resilience needs to be fostered by identifying vulnerabilities and increasing adaptive capacities, he added.
