Flavourful Produce: Rehabilitation of Banana Plantations

Transcription

1 23 M A L D I V E S Flavourful Produce: Rehabilitation of Banana Plantations GENERAL INFORMATION Country: Maldives Location: Kamadhoo, Baa Atoll Community: Residents of Kamadhoo Number of Beneficiaries: 58 farmers and their families Workshop Section: Market and Finance Implementing Institution: Kamadhoo Island Development Committee Head: Ali Shareef Adam Details of Institution: Address: Island Office, Kamadhoo, Baa Atoll, Maldives Tel.: (+960) Implementation Period: 27 December December 2006 Budget: $41,

2 274 VOLUME 14: EXAMPLES OF COMMUNITY-BASED APPROACHES TO RECOVERY FROM NATURAL DISASTERS: POST-TSUNAMI EXPERIENCES S U M M A R Y The project supported the restoration of livelihoods of the predominantly female farmer community in Kamadhoo, Baa Atoll, by rehabilitating the island s banana plantations, which had been debilitated in the wake of the tsunami. The reasons for the decrease in the crop yield and the size of the fruit were assessed with technical assistance from the Ministry of Fisheries, Agriculture and Marine Resources. Measures to improve the situation were identified and implemented. Hands-on training in composting and appropriate farming techniques was conducted for the community on two separate occasions during the year, and a pilot community composting project was initiated. The plots were regenerated and replanted with bananas and other cash crops as desired by the community and a good-quality harvest was witnessed by the end of the project period. As a result, the income-earning capacity of farmers was restored and the potential for higher incomes was created. Owing to the high demand from tourist resorts and other inhabited islands in the region, the capital invested in the agricultural regeneration was recovered within 14 months. The project witnessed the active participation and empowerment of women, who gained technical knowledge on sustainable agricultural development and are now practising cultivation in a more organized manner. B A C K G R O U N D A N D J U S T I F I C AT I O N The island of Kamadhoo in Baa Atoll of the Maldives is about 129 km from Male and has a land area of 16.2 hectares. The population of 430, approximately half of which is female, is grouped in 59 households and is economically active in the tourism, reef fishery and agriculture industries. A large number of the men work away from the island while many women are active in farming. With tourist resorts and several inhabited islands in the atoll, there is a significant demand for the island s agricultural produce. On Kamadhoo, each dwelling in which residents are interested in farming is allocated a plot of agricultural land for a three-year period, which can be extended subject to its satisfactory use. As a result, around 60 plots of land with an average size of 2,000 sq ft had been under cultivation prior to the tsunami, primarily to grow banana trees and limited quantities of other cash crops, which were sold mainly to resorts and islands in the region. However, in the aftermath of the tsunami, the crop yield decreased and the size of bananas produced became too small to be sold in the market. The farming community believed that the salt water that had swept over the island had caused severe soil degradation, culminating in the poor yield. The community, eager to regenerate the plantation to its former condition and return to its established incomeearning activity, had approached the

3 Flavourful Produce: Maldives 275 Island Development Committee (IDC) with its issues. When the call for proposals for funding by the South-South Grants Facility (SSGF) went out, the Kamadhoo IDC proposed a project with a total budget of $41,339 to assist with assessing the cause of the poor banana yield, identifying possible measures to improve the situation, conducting training in composting and farming techniques, and initiating a pilot community composting project on its island. The IDC committed $16,346 of community funding to this endeavour, highlighting the importance accorded to it by the community. Upon confirmation of funds, Island Office channels were used to communicate the needs of the community to the Ministry of Fisheries, Agriculture and Marine Resources in Male. IDC asked the Ministry for technical assistance to assess existing conditions and provide it with suggestions for improving its yield. O B J E C T I V E The objective of the project was to rehabilitate the banana plantation. Resources arrived on the island on 1 April Project funds were used to finance their travel and the needs assessment and training activities. Upon assessing the situation, the team found that: the base and roots of the banana plants were weak, with splitting of the base and weakening of the trunk (fig. 1); Figure 1 Weak banana plants prior to rehabilitation. the banana flower did not complete development to reach the fructification stage (fig. 2); A C T I V I T I E S, A C H I E V E M E N T S A N D I M PA C T A C T I V I T I E S Assessment of the Situation An expert team from the Ministry of Fisheries, Agriculture and Marine Figure 2 Poorly developed banana flower and fruit.

4 276 VOLUME 14: EXAMPLES OF COMMUNITY-BASED APPROACHES TO RECOVERY FROM NATURAL DISASTERS: POST-TSUNAMI EXPERIENCES the plant growth curve was low and the leaves were faded; the soil was poor, with high salinity; there was evidence of pests that had previously not been present on the island, including burrowing nematodes (Cosmopolites sordidus) and banana weevils (Radopholus similes); and there were some problems with snail and slug infestation. The experts were of the opinion that the poor quality of the suckers, the large number of banana trees in each plot and the age of the plot were in part to blame for the problem. They also noted that the plants on the western side of the island that had also been affected by the salt water during the tsunami and that were also more vulnerable to encroachment by the roots of the larger trees in the forested area were more affected. They deduced that additional degradation of soil quality had been caused by the plots having been kept clean of leaves and other natural fertilizers. Among the solutions proposed by the team were: using pesticides for soil-borne diseases on the affected areas within a set period; changing the cropping system by reducing the number of suckers in some plots to control the disease. The team advised that every plot should optimally have three to four suckers and that a distance of at least 10 feet should be maintained between plots or, alternatively, one sucker could be planted at closer distances; burning or eliminating suckers that could not be cured or trimmed adequately; using healthy suckers for planting (fig. 3) and ensuring that they are planted only after being cleaned and disinfected; using a specific size of sucker for planting (those that are 3-4 feet in height with a wide base, tapered tip and incomplete leaf development); composting to enrich the quality of the soil; digging a trench down to the water lens in order to address the problem of encroachment; and keeping the base of the plant dry and covering the ground with leaves or applying lime dry or with water to minimize the snail and slug problem. Alternatively, a good chemical solution would be metaldehyde. Figure 3 Healthy banana suckers planted in prepared ground.

5 Flavourful Produce: Maldives 277 Training of Farmers During the visit of the experts from the Ministry of Fisheries, Agriculture and Marine Resources, training in crop production, plant diseases and methods of integrated pest control and management was provided to a group of 58 farmers. Practical sessions were undertaken for the preparation of compost pits using local organic waste. Subsequently, the existing plots were stripped and cleaned according to the expert s advice, and fresh seeds, seedlings and young plants of the types that the community wanted to cultivate were obtained from Male and other atolls. Figure 4 Kamadhoo farmer planting Chinese cabbage. In June, the community asked the Ministry to pay a second visit to the island. Thus technical experts returned to Kamadhoo in July for a 13-day period to conduct training in soil improvement and cropping. The plots were replanted under guidance from the experts using a mixed cropping system. With the IDC stressing that each plot should have a minimum of 10 suckers for sustainability reasons, approximately 700 banana suckers were planted. The community opted to use half of each plot for bananas and the other half for different cash crops, including cucumber, eggplant, chilli and Chinese cabbage (fig. 4). Irrigation of the fields had been a major difficulty in the past since most options that the community had considered had been too costly. During project implementation, the farmer community devised and executed a cost-efficient approach: a plot-based hand pump system with pipes that are sunk to the water lens. The materials for the pumps were provided under the grant along with a set of tools, pesticides and fertilizers for each plot. Items Provided to Each of 60 Plots Tool Fertilizer/Pesticide Seed/Seedling Wheelbarrow Unigrow Banana (suckers) Spade Floral Chinese cabbage Hand hoe Nitrophosca Brinjal Shears Dithane Cucumber Large-blade knife Furidon Papaya (red lady) Pesticide sprayer Watering can

6 278 VOLUME 14: EXAMPLES OF COMMUNITY-BASED APPROACHES TO RECOVERY FROM NATURAL DISASTERS: POST-TSUNAMI EXPERIENCES Ahmed Waheed, Farmer Mr. Waheed has been farming since before the tsunami in addition to working in a mosque in Kamadhoo. He believes that the tsunami destroyed the outcome of all the hard work on his plot and that he did not have any hope of recovering from that loss but that then, the assistance provided under the SSGF enabled him to return to farming and achieve good results. According to him, gross sales from the postproject harvest from his plot were around Rf3,690 while before the tsunami, his sales Figure 5 Mr. Waheed watering his banana plot. used to be about Rf During the project period, Mr. Waheed planted brinjals and cucumber in addition to bananas. However, he has discontinued these crops as they did not provide a high return and he now plants only bananas (fig. 5). A year and a half after the start of the project, Mr. Waheed is in a better financial position and can now afford to purchase supplies for his farm. He believes that the secret to farming is hard work and using fertilizers, and with his living conditions slowly improving, he is keen to continue banana cultivation on his island. A C H I E V E M E N T S With the majority of the plots owned and managed by women, the project has witnessed their active participation and empowerment; they now have a great deal of technical know-how on sustainable agricultural development and are practising cultivation in a more organized manner. The first crop of bananas yielded a good harvest of around wellformed bunches. The income-earning capacity of farmers has been restored and the potential for higher incomes has been created (figs. 6a, 6b and 6c). Owing to the high demand from tourist resorts and other inhabited islands in the region, the capital invested for regeneration of agriculture was recovered within 14 months. Young adults are gaining interest and confidence in the sector, paving the way for additional employment potential in the future. In the medium to long term, it is expected that this will facilitate further social and educational development on the island.

7 Flavourful Produce: Maldives 279 Figures 6a, 6b, 6c Healthy crops after project implementation. P R O J E C T P L A N N I N G A N D D E S I G N T H E P R O C E S S The proposal was submitted by the Island Development Committee, which is comprised of government officials on the island and members from the community at large. Submitting a proposal was suggested by one member and unanimously approved by all members at a meeting of the Committee held on 22 November R E P R E S E N TAT I V E N E S S The project addressed complaints that the Island Development Committee had had from the large farmer community on the island regarding the problems that the farmers had been having on their plots. It is therefore representative of community concerns. During the implementation phase, farmers were consulted on all aspects of the project, which was tailored to reflect the needs of the farmer community. Farmers provided information on the type of crops that they wanted to grow, the training was designed to meet articulated needs, and the actual implementation was undertaken by the farmers themselves. P A R T N E R S H I P S R O L E O F G O V E R N M E N T The Island Office, which is the islandlevel government entity, assisted the community in communicating its needs to the Ministry of Fisheries, Agriculture and Marine Resources in Male and in requesting the technical assistance needed. The Ministry staff worked closely with the community in identifying the problems and assisting with the implementation of remedial and training activities. N G O PA R T N E R S H I P S Although IDC is the agency that prepared and managed the project, the farmer community of Kamadhoo was the implementer and NGOs active on the island participated in marketing the produce to the resorts.

8 280 VOLUME 14: EXAMPLES OF COMMUNITY-BASED APPROACHES TO RECOVERY FROM NATURAL DISASTERS: POST-TSUNAMI EXPERIENCES C H A L L E N G E S A N D C O N S T R A I N T S Banana cultivation on Kamadhoo was hindered by the implementation of suboptimal farming methods and knowledge deficiencies within the community. The project facilitated training in various aspects of sustainable agricultural production, enabling the farmer community to adopt more fruitful approaches and obtain a better yield from its crops. With the community opting for a localized, handpump-driven irrigation system, the shortage of finance that had previously been an obstacle to adequate irrigation of the fields was also overcome under the project. However, ingrained attitudes among the farmers have proved to be a challenge to sustainability. Despite advice to the contrary, some of the farmers have replanted the diseased plants that had been uprooted from the plots in other locations around the island, resulting in a reoccurrence of the problem to some extent. IDC is now in contact with the Ministry of Fisheries, Agriculture and Marine Resources for further advice. It was also observed that simple changes can be adopted to turn a suboptimal crop into a high-yielding one and chemical fertilizers are not always necessary to boost production. Sustainability of the initiative will depend on the proximity to markets for its produce. Conversely, it has also been observed that markets in close range also pose a threat to this type of activity. In Kamadhoo, for example, the women of the island now have casual employment at some of the resorts close by where they are able to work as cleaners for a few hours a day. This makes the relatively hard work of crop cultivation less attractive as a booster of household income, and even in Kamadhoo, more of the women are turning to the less labour-intensive banana crop rather than attempting to grow a variety of produce. While this may be considered a risk to the sustainability of an agriculture project, the rationale cannot be disputed from a livelihood perspective. L E S S O N S L E A R N E D R E P L I C A B I L I T Y A key lesson from this project is that with the proper techniques, agricultural production can be fostered on islands where space is available and the community is motivated and keen to engage in agricultural production. The hand-pump irrigation system adopted by the farmers is a very practical solution that is being used in other areas as well. It is easy to use, replicable in similar situations elsewhere and very environmentally friendly.

9 Flavourful Produce: Maldives 281 F U T U R E P L A N S The Kamadhoo IDC has received requests for land to expand agricultural activities on the island. As it is empowered to allocate land according to community needs within a broad land-use plan, it will be providing more plots for cultivation of bananas in the future. IDC also has plans to facilitate additional training in the use of fertilizers and pesticides for the farmer community. P U B L I C A T I O N S A N D R E F E R E N C E S Project Proposal. Final Report of 31 May Memorandum of Understanding between UNOPS and Kamadhoo Island Development Committee. Interviews with the Kamadhoo Island Development Committee Project Coordinator and beneficiaries, September Contacts: Case Study Documented by: Shafeenaz Abdul-Sattar shafeenaz_sattar@hotmail.com Project Contact: Mohamed Shameem

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