Strategic Action Plan 2019 - 2023.

This Strategic Action Plan 2019 - 2023 is a multi-sectoral policy document. It outlines the developmental targets and priorities of the Government of Maldives for the five-year period 2019 – 2023.
The SAP seeks to strengthen the efforts on the food security and nutrition. Strategies proposed in the SAP include: Increase production of traditional crops to ensure nutrition safety of communities; Increase production of identified crops for self-sufficiency and reduction of imports; etc.
The SAP promotes to ensure all types of fishery are developed sustainably, incorporating modern fishery management principles and approaches and ensure the integrity and well-being of the marine ecosystems. Strategies proposed in the SAP include: Improve fisheries policy, legislative and management frameworks to align with international standards, best practices and obligations; Improve data collection and management on biological, ecological, and socio-economic aspects of fisheries to support evidencebased policymaking; Enhance monitoring, control and surveillance of fisheries to comply with national and international instruments and market requirements; Expand reef health assessment, rehabilitation and restoration; Increase research on Endangered, Threatened and Protected (ETP) species and species of special interest; Ensure environmental health and biosecurity in aquaculture development; etc. To mainstream climate smart and sustainable agricultural practices, the SAP proposes: Reduce economic and ecological wastage from agricultural practices by introducing climate-smart modern agricultural technologies; Introduce agroforestry practices to agricultural systems; etc.
The SAP also promotes employment in fishery and marine resource sector. Strategies proposed in the SAP include: Promote and encourage youth participation in the fishery sector; Promote the inclusion of disadvantaged groups in fishing communities (i.e.: women, youth, and PWDs) at all stages of the value-chain in the fishery sector; Facilitate the implementation of mentoring and entrepreneurship programs that can effectively turn subsistence fishing and fishery production into profitable and sustainable ventures; Improve occupational health and safety standards for fishermen; Establish a Social Protection Platform for fishermen; etc.
The SAP seeks to enable more inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems. Strategies proposed in the SAP include: Develop market infrastructure and linkages for local agricultural produce; Ensure the quality and safety of the Maldivian fishery products; Increase institutional and technical support in the development of agribusinesses; Establish medium scale production facilities in selected regions and identify crops and animals for value addition; Integrate Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) standards into the legal framework and support farmers (commercial and subsistence) in GAP certification; Promote and facilitate access to technologies and techniques to increase profitability, improve catch quality, and reduce postharvest losses; Promote Maldivian fishery and fishery products to improve market access and stimulate greater profit margins; Support the diversification of value-added fishery products in the islands, in order to foster new market opportunities; Improve national plant health and veterinary services; etc.
The SAP promotes to increase the resilience of livelihoods to disasters through: Supporting local councils to integrate climate risks and hazard and vulnerabilities to local development planning; Developing regulatory framework for designating green areas in reclaimed land and islands, to improve quality of life, and as a climate change mitigation and adaptation measure; Reviewing and revising the existing legal, regulatory and policy frameworks concerning anthropogenic and climate change impacts on coral reefs and other vulnerable ecosystems; Increasing research on environmental protection and conservation to minimise pressures on ecosystems and biodiversity from anthropogenic and climate change related stresses; etc.