The Agency was set up to address some of the main weaknesses and threats in the Maltese market for food from farming and fisheries, by:

• Mitigating against some of the market failures in the agricultural sector and in the fishing industry.
• Addressing the issue of marketing barriers for individual producers
• Addressing the vulnerability of the fishing industry due to low productivity.
• Regulating the sales and marketing of food from farming and fisheries through operational licenses and marketing standards.
• Addressing operational issues within the Pitkalija and the Pixkerija, including management of information, storage, traceability of product, transparency of sales, fairness of auction systems and more.

Besides correcting for market failures, the Agency has a strategic role in creating the right business ecosystem by:

• Implementing agriculture and fisheries marketing regulations.
• Implement Government’s policy in the field of food from farming and fisheries.
• Offering market-based research and evidence to support policy and business development.
• Administering the business operations of the legally established markets, the Pitkalija and the Pixkerija.
• Supporting the competitiveness and business development of enterprises in the farming and fisheries food system by providing industrial space, infrastructure, business advisory and engineering services.