Carob tree and its products

Abstract

This project presents a collection of data about the carob tree, its products and its feasibility if it had to be planted as an orchard. This project provides a collection of knowledge about the tree, its life span, its production, its products, its current product prices, its production costs, the investments needed, orchard management and climatic requirements, all these were studied and presented in detail to provide a picture of the worthiness of the carob tree as a plantation for the Maltese Islands. In the last few years there has been a large investment in the olive and vine industry and seem to be promising good results, during the year of 2007 we have seen the first D.O.K. wines produced from both Gozo and Malta. The olive production is very similar to the carob production and this was used as a model in this project to promote the carob industry as a feasible one. This project provides a clear picture of the monetary income to the farmer which is one of the few things which will convince a farmer to invest in his land. Farmers faced and are facing difficulties to stay on their farmland and this forced out many farmers out of business, the population of full timers decreased, and it is time that local crops are studied well in order to set up a sustainable and multifunctional agriculture. What will happen if all farmers are forced out of their land? What is happening by introducing foreign crops which are not acclimatized to our climate such as sweet corn which need lots of water and pesticide application. Local crops are adapted to our climate and are usually resistant to local pests, thus promoting their products shall improve our environment and provide a better income to the farmers keeping them on their land "our environment".