Cooperation between Ifad and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries |23 April 2018

More financial help for small farmers, fishers

A new agreement has been signed to seek international financial support for continued development in the agricultural and fisheries sector in Seychelles.

Agriculture principal secretary Antoine-Marie Moustache and the visiting country programme manager of the Eastern & Southern Africa Division of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (Ifad), Ibrahima Bamba, signed the agreement on Friday at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries’ headquarters at Maison Collet.

Mr Bamba has been leading a team of several consultants, the third Ifad fact-finding mission in the country for two weeks in relation to collecting the necessary information and data required before finalising the agreement.

Before signing the agreement on Friday, a final meeting was held to discuss various aspects and components of the new programme termed as ‘Innovations for Small-Scale Agriculture and Fisheries’ (ISSAF).

In 2015, following several months of discussions which started the year before with fact-finding missions from Ifad, the government of Seychelles through the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries received a US $3 million loan to finance small projects and training for small farmers and backyard farming respectively under the Competitive Local Innovations Small-Scale Agriculture (Clissa). The latter comes to term in June next year and before that happens, the ministry has again sought the help of Ifad to provide more support to the two sectors.

“The agricultural sector still needs a lot of assistance and we called on Ifad to consider our request for more support and assistance and if this materialises, the funding will be used to continue supporting small farmers and help them develop and grow their business, boost their earning and also help small fishermen to venture in exploring ways to add more value to the fish they catch as a way to increase their income.

“Other areas that we plan to focus on are the better management of fish stocks for sustainable artisanal fishing and also explore ways to boost nutritious local food productions and work with the Ministry of Health to encourage healthy eating among our population to help curb the problem of obesity.

“We will also ensure that small farmers have access to water throughout the year even at the peak of the dry season,” PS Moustache pointed out after the signing.

PS Moustache explained that the ministry is hoping to obtain another US $3 million of financial help under this follow-up programme.

Mr Bamba noted that Ifad’s aim remains to help small farming communities as Seychelles, being a small island developing state, faces numerous challenges when it comes to food production and food security.

“We are here to help the government with its policy to improve food security and together we will invest further in the development of small scale farmers and fishers as well as backyard gardeners,” Mr Bamba affirmed, noting that the mission’s meeting with government officials, farmers, fishers on Mahé, Praslin and La Digue went well.

He added that it was an opportunity for the Ifad mission to be apprised of different small projects undertaken under the Clissa project.

Mr Bamba went on to point out that access to funds for further development, access to market and new technologies in agricultural development remain the biggest concern for small farmers and fishers and said the Ifad will continue to work with the ministry to support them and boost their resilience so they can  overcome those challenges.