An agreement has been signed to commence a community farming project in Addu City, under the Global Environment Facility of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The community farming project is to be carried out in collaboration between the Addu City Council, Maldives National University (MNU), Addu People’s Cooperative (APC) and the Women’s Development Committee (WDC) of Addu City. Under the project, 19 greenhouses will be developed with each greenhouse allocated a space of 1,000 sqft. Training of local farmers will also be carried out under the project.
Speaking at the ceremony held to sign the project agreement, MNU Vice Chancellor Mohamed Shareef said although the university was initially set to only provide technical assistance, the university wanted to provide a bigger contribution to the project. In this regard, Shareef said the project will be carried out in part of the land allocated for MNU in Addu, adding the university will be providing both technical and financial assistance to the project.
Meanwhile, Mayor of Addu City Ali Nizar noted farming is currently carried out in Addu without much planning. However, he said the new community farming project will provide the platform for much needed assistance to local farmers in both production and marketing.
Under the community farming project, 80 farmers will be trained in Addu within the first two years. This includes 40 farmers currently working in the industry and 40 new farmers. 40 slots will also be allocated for women, as well as school children.
The Addu People’s Cooperative (APC) revealed the items produced under the project will be among the 17 items allocated under the food security policy of the administration. The APC stated the project will begin with the production of two items, with further items to be produced as the project goes on.