United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Government of Japan, and the Government of Maldives has signed an agreement to develop agriculture in the Maldives to further increase food security.
The agreement was signed on Tuesday.
This is an initiative under the Project for Developing Sustainable Agricultural Economy (PDSAE). Under the agreement, the Government of Japan had pledged US$ 2.7 million (MVR 41.7 million) of grant aid. The agreements were signed by Her Excellency Keiko Yanai, Ambassador of Japan to the Maldives, Enrico Gaveglia, UNDP Resident Representative in the Maldives, Minister of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture, Dr. Hussain Rasheed Hassan, and Minister of Economic Development, Uz. Fayyaz Ismail on behalf of their respective agencies.
A project document was also signed by the ministers of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture and Economic Development together with the UNDP Resident Representative to seal the implementation plan which will last up to October 2024.
Speaking in the ceremony, Dr. Hussain Rasheed stressed on the importance of this project to the Maldives.
“This fund will allow the Maldives to increase its capacity to develop and diversify the agriculture sector at this very crucial time. It marks the beginning of a very historical journey towards food security of the Maldives and will make a huge positive impact on the lives of the people of Maldives working in the agriculture sector,” he said.
PDSAE will focus on enhancing food security in Maldives, and enable more entrepreneurs interested in the agricultural businesses to enter the sector, and facilitate secondary and tertiary production of related commodities, including foodstuff and textiles.
“The timing of this project is very opportune, given the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, which has exposed the risks, fragilities and inequalities characterizing the global agri-food systems. And especially for the Maldives, where the pandemic has also heightened the importance of resilience, self-sufficiency and diversification, and the need to integrate sustainability in economic, social and environmental dimensions throughout our agro-food systems,” said the Ambassador.