Senior officials of Maldives and Canada have held discussions focused on exploring investment opportunities and advancing sustainable agriculture in the island nation.
The discussions took place when the Minister of Agriculture and Animal Welfare, Dr Maryam Mariya met with Eric Walsh, High Commissioner of Canada to the Maldives, Paul Thoppil, Canada's Indo-Pacific Trade Representative and their team on Tuesday.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Welfare, Minister Mariya during the meeting shared the current challenges faced by the Maldives’ agricultural industry including ensuring food security and transportation of agricultural products between regions due to the geographically displaced nature of the island nation.
The Canadian High Commissioner and his team offered advice on ways to address these issues, the Ministry said, which included suggestions to establish closer ties with tourist resorts to secure a sustainable supply of agricultural products.
Other suggestions included standardising agricultural products to increase confidence for manufacturers and make it easier for them to market their products, the Ministry added.
According to the Ministry, the Canadian team had also stressed on the importance of introducing environmentally friendly agricultural products through farming techniques such as hydroponics.