Mr. Chair,
President of IFAD,
Distinguished Governors,
Ladies and Gentlemen.

Let me begin by congratulating President Dr. Kanayo Nwanze for being re-elected unanimously as the President for the second term. Let me also thank the President and the Secretariat for the warm welcome, excellent preparation, organization and arrangements for this Session of the Governing Council.

Mr. Chair, ladies and gentlemen, as we complete a year of development of Cooperatives, we need to reflect on our achievements and learn from each other on the successes and failures in the cooperative model of agricultural development.  We need to reflect on enterprise development, growth and promotion of cooperatives and encourage policy changes conducive to the formation, growth and stability of cooperatives.

I can share brief initial outcomes from the Maldives.  The Post-Tsunami Agriculture and Fisheries Rehabilitation Project,  and the Fisheries and Agriculture Diversification Project,  both under  IFAD’s  loan and grant assistance to the Maldives, has been instrumental in strengthening the relevant sector capacities. It has led to the introduction of new technologies and an overall increase in incomes of marginal farmers and fishers in the islands of the Maldives. 

The introduction and formation of Cooperatives with a focus on increasing production, marketing and establishing linkages with distributors and consumers, has been an integral achievement of both projects. In addition, the training and capacity development - technical, managerial and entrepreneurial, have strengthened community participation in agriculture and fishery production and development. This in turn has increased market confidence for agricultural and fishery products - both fresh and value added.

The employment opportunities provided through the Cooperatives to the marginalized farmers and fishermen especially fish processors and women groups in the islands, has had a big overall impact on the island development. It is worthwhile to note the new processed products such as up-to-standard local fishery products, traditional chili sauce and home-made eggs that have made notable introduction to the retail market of Maldives.
At present, there are 10 agriculture and 7 fishery Cooperatives working directly under IFAD Assistance through the current Fisheries and Agriculture Diversification Project. They are the integral nodes to the Value Chain Model introduced through the projects, and are working mutually and beneficially with the Ministry and Private Sector. These are the important and needful partnerships that foster the fishery and agriculture sectors and their development in the Maldives.

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and gentlemen, we in the Maldives have a very narrow base for economic development.  Fisheries and agriculture continue to be the mainstay of the economy despite huge strides in tourism development.  We are consolidating on our partnerships with the tourism industry and widening markets for produce from value chain cooperatives.  We are convinced that such local partnerships will foster growth in the agriculture sector leading to food security, poverty alleviation and increased income levels for smallholder farmers and fishers.

Mr. Chair, ladies and gentlemen, one of the main hurdles we have in the Maldives is enabling farmers to reach markets in a timely manner.  The scattered nature of the island archipelago and long distance travel by sea between islands, presents great challenges for rural communities to reach fresh markets.  We are tackling this by developing infrastructure at key regional centers.  IFAD is assisting us in developing both fishery and agriculture markets at strategic locations by structured interventions through cooperatives. 
We strongly believe in adding value to our raw materials which will lead to increased production.  Value addition is critical for creating rural employment and maximizing returns at current production levels. We continue to work with IFAD to meet these goals.

Thank you.