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Agriculture Development and Poverty Reduction in the Maldives Abdulla Naseer Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture , Maldives
26

APR Workshop 2010-SS Cooperation Agricultural-development and poverty reduction Maldives

Nov 11, 2014

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Page 1: APR Workshop 2010-SS Cooperation Agricultural-development and poverty reduction Maldives

Agriculture Development and Poverty Reduction in the Maldives

Abdulla NaseerMinistry of Fisheries and Agriculture ,Maldives

Page 2: APR Workshop 2010-SS Cooperation Agricultural-development and poverty reduction Maldives

The islands…

Chain of very small islands in the Indian Ocean

1200 small coral islands Combined land area of all islands:

300 sq km

Page 3: APR Workshop 2010-SS Cooperation Agricultural-development and poverty reduction Maldives

Island use About 200 islands are inhabited Approximately 150 islands developed for

tourism and other industries 35 Islands are leased for commercial

farming Remaining islands are used mainly for

agriculture and fishery related activities Smallest inhabited island: 4 ha (fishing

community) Largest inhabited island: 500 ha (farming

community)

Page 4: APR Workshop 2010-SS Cooperation Agricultural-development and poverty reduction Maldives

Population

Population: 320,000 Under 18 : 100,000 Old age +65: 15,000 GDP (2010): 906 million US$ Per capita GDP: 2,834 US$ Fisheries and Agriculture

contribution: 5%

Page 5: APR Workshop 2010-SS Cooperation Agricultural-development and poverty reduction Maldives

Population distribution on Islands

A third of the population (100,000) lives in Male’

75 islands = <500 people 105 islands = 500 – 2000 population 12 islands = 2000 – 5000 3 islands = 5000 – 10000 1 island = 10000 plus

Page 6: APR Workshop 2010-SS Cooperation Agricultural-development and poverty reduction Maldives

Fisheries Sector Tuna Fishing: over 100,000 MT of fish

landed annually Over 1000 tuna pole and line boats Fishing method utilizes a high workforce

by design – other methods banned Fish processing by small holder fishers 10,000 to 15,000 fishermen and small

holder processors Women participation high in fish

processing

Page 7: APR Workshop 2010-SS Cooperation Agricultural-development and poverty reduction Maldives

Catch Share systems and fishing method

These are key to the income distribution poverty alleviation in rural fisher communities

Fishing boats employ a complex traditional system of sharing the catch

A good catch means everyone benefits

Usually the boat owner gets a larger share

Pole and line method maintains a large fishing population

Page 8: APR Workshop 2010-SS Cooperation Agricultural-development and poverty reduction Maldives

Fish processing

Small holder fishers Mostly women involved Home kitchen Dry and packaging Large sector in reduction of poverty Currently affected by commercial

operators

Page 9: APR Workshop 2010-SS Cooperation Agricultural-development and poverty reduction Maldives

Fish processing concessions

No taxation or royalties levied from small holder fish processors

These concessions to small holders are sometimes abused by larger middlemen affecting small holder activities

Small holder fishers are at risk of losing advantages to such activities

Page 10: APR Workshop 2010-SS Cooperation Agricultural-development and poverty reduction Maldives

Fisheries Development

In the past 3 decades the fisheries sector has developed with much concessions

Loans have been provided for boats and engines consistently

The sector has grown constantly under government inputs in the form of boat building, freezing and canning facilities

Page 11: APR Workshop 2010-SS Cooperation Agricultural-development and poverty reduction Maldives

Fisheries Development

Exemption of duties for imports of materials and equipment

Investments in fish purchasing centers

Fisheries developed fast with open access

Policy shifts now to management and sustainability

Page 12: APR Workshop 2010-SS Cooperation Agricultural-development and poverty reduction Maldives

Fisheries Policy changes

Loans have moved from Government to Banks

Local market development Development of Urbanized Islands

and privatization. Health and education developed at

these centers

Page 13: APR Workshop 2010-SS Cooperation Agricultural-development and poverty reduction Maldives

Agriculture Sector

Agriculture crops: water melons, bananas, taro, leafy vegetables, pumpkins,

Mangoes, breadfruit, coconut products

Most fruits and vegetables are imported.

Farming done on small plots of land: average size: 5-10,000 sq ft

Poor soil and heavy use of fertilizers Traditional methods

Page 14: APR Workshop 2010-SS Cooperation Agricultural-development and poverty reduction Maldives

The “tsunami effect”

Since the tsunami agriculture production has increased notably

Agri inputs were provided to all tsunami affected island

Training programs were conducted Many projects were launched with

FAO, IFAD, ADB, WB assistance amongst many others.

Few of these are ongoing 5 years on

Page 15: APR Workshop 2010-SS Cooperation Agricultural-development and poverty reduction Maldives

Agriculture development

Fishing the dominant sector has stabilized at a 100,00 MTs

Agriculture output is increasing and much effort need to be put in to develop agriculture.

Process of overall development has shrunk the agriculture sectors.

The contribution to GDP from fisheries and agriculture has declined with tourism development

Agriculture has the potential to expand in terms poverty alleviation and GDP contribution

Page 16: APR Workshop 2010-SS Cooperation Agricultural-development and poverty reduction Maldives

Economic development on islands Growth of island economies are largely

related to fishing and farming in most islands

Backyard gardens/farming very important for income generation

Market accessibility is the main constraint Very few established markets Housing, health and education are

strongly related to the agriculture sectors - fishing

Page 17: APR Workshop 2010-SS Cooperation Agricultural-development and poverty reduction Maldives

Tourism and Agriculture

Tourism started in the early 70’s Fishing was the dominant economic

activity then Since then revenue from Tourism has

taken over Agriculture sectors. Tourism created many jobs but not

for small farmers and fishers Tourism was also to create new

markets for local produce

Page 18: APR Workshop 2010-SS Cooperation Agricultural-development and poverty reduction Maldives

Negative impacts of Tourism Conflicts between fishers and tourism

industry Tourism related bans of fish species The one island one resort concept Resorts grow their own fruits and

vegetables Resorts also operate their own fishing

boats Overall loss of income for communities

Page 19: APR Workshop 2010-SS Cooperation Agricultural-development and poverty reduction Maldives

Development effects

Loss of farms and fishing seem to be the norm with economic diversification on islands

3 of the most developed islands now do little farming or fishing

Urban development paves the way for competition for land

Activities such as construction and other industries quickly take over

Page 20: APR Workshop 2010-SS Cooperation Agricultural-development and poverty reduction Maldives

Island specialization

Specialized rural farmer and fisher communities exist and they are very successful in overall development of the island

One island where water melons are the key crop grow amongst few others.

Islands where only a certain type of fishery is practiced: eg lobster fishing.

Many advantages of this type of specializations. Becomes the driving force for overall

development of health, education and housing

Page 21: APR Workshop 2010-SS Cooperation Agricultural-development and poverty reduction Maldives

Decentralization

Under the decentralization law new island councils will be elected in the next few months.

The new decentralized administration will have profound effects on agriculture development

Assistance need to be provided for the councils to manage agriculture

Page 22: APR Workshop 2010-SS Cooperation Agricultural-development and poverty reduction Maldives

New concepts

Ways to overcome constraints to markets and trading

Cooperatives and community based producer organizations

Met with skepticism and limited successes

Overall a very difficult concept to sell for small holder fishers and farmers

Page 23: APR Workshop 2010-SS Cooperation Agricultural-development and poverty reduction Maldives

New approaches

Training Laws and regulations Community based efforts Promoting Integrated approaches NGO involvement – new concepts Training centers being developed Linkages between commercial

operators and small holder farmers Supply contracts

Page 24: APR Workshop 2010-SS Cooperation Agricultural-development and poverty reduction Maldives

Need for Legislation and regulation

No agriculture law Agriculture related laws are now

being drafted with assistance from FAO

Fisheries Law is under review Agriculture related Land issues are

difficult to be address due to lack of legislation

Page 25: APR Workshop 2010-SS Cooperation Agricultural-development and poverty reduction Maldives

The way ahead

Training and skills development Sustainable fisheries management Quality assurance Value chain development –

Page 26: APR Workshop 2010-SS Cooperation Agricultural-development and poverty reduction Maldives

Thank you