The Government of the Maldives and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have signed the Project for Developing Sustainable Agricultural Economy (PDSAE), to be undertaken under the assistance of the Government of Japan.
Complementing the existing ‘Sustainable Economic Empowerment and Development for SMEs’ (SEEDS) project, the new initiative aims to further strengthen local productivity of agricultural produce in the Maldives. The agreement for the project was signed on October 12 by the Minister of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture Dr. Hussain Rasheed Hassan, Minister of Economic Development Fayyaz Ismail, Ambassador of Japan to the Maldives Keiko Yanai and UNDP Resident Representative in the Maldives, Enrico Gaveglia. A project document was also signed to seal the implementation plan of the project, which will last up to October 2024.
Under the project, UNDP Maldives will partner with the Ministry of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture and the Ministry of Economic Development, backed by the support of the Government of Japan committing a grant amount of USD 2.7 million.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Minister Dr. Hussain Rasheed Hassan said the fund will allow the Maldives to increase its capacity to develop and diversify the agriculture sector at this very crucial time. He added 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.
The 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.
Together with UNDP, and the Ministry of Economic Development and Ministry of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture, the PDSAE will be implemented in partnership with Agro National Corporation (AgroNat), the Business Center Corporation (BCC) and Housing Development Corporation (HDC).