Client – Ministry of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture
Project Status – Ongoing

Overall objective of project is promoting agro-businesses model in selected sites with a major focus on promoting small agro-processing equipment for quick value addition of fruits and vegetables.

The expected Project Output and Results are:

(a) increase income and improve livelihoods of the small holders

(b) promote empowerment of rural women and employment through promotion of agri-businesses; and

(c) develop value chain of the agriculture produces and products and mainstreaming the locally produced commodities.

The project is implemented in 6 Member countries of SAARC (except Afghanistan and Nepal out of 8 Member Countries). In Maldives, the project will be implemented in Sh. Atoll Goidhoo and Sh. Atoll Milandhoo and will cater 50 primary beneficiaries from each island.

The survey attempts to map the agricultural value chain of the target crops in both the project islands, articulates from the various players in the value chain the opportunities and challenges of participation and vertical and horizontal movement along the value chain. The survey captures the gendered division of labour, gendered decision making, gendered roles and responsibilities and 24hour time use of women and men, to generate useful inputs for engendering the agricultural value chain of the selected target crops. The institutional support is mapped to understand the strong and weak linkages and also to generate inputs for facilitating stronger linkages, convergence and synergy. The survey will also help in identifying the commodities which the beneficiaries prefer to do value-addition and value-chain development.