Agro National Corporation (AgroNat) has stated it will soon begin buying agricultural products from farmers who have not signed contracts with the company.
Speaking to PSM News, Manager of Business Development Hassan Afsal said contract farming is different from the current farming and agricultural models in the Maldives and that the company had initially faced challenges in marketing the contract farming model to farmers. However, he said that teams have travelled and met with farmers across the country to provide information on the benefits of contract farming, which has resulted in an overwhelming number of farmers expressing their interest in signing contracts with AgroNat. He further said AgroNat only buys agricultural products from contracted farmers but plans to begin buying and marketing products of farmers who have not established contracts with the company.
AgroNat was established by the government to market agricultural produce from local farms and provide a better income for farmers. The corporation has established contracts with farmers for various different types of fruits and vegetables. AgroNat is providing technical and financial assistance to local farmers to produce these items, and helping them to market their produce. Teams from AgroNat have travelled to 68 islands to provide information on contract farming and over 2,000 farmers have registered to AgroNat so far, with over 1,000 farmers currently under contract.