Ministry to introduce MVR 10,000 fishermen's insurance scheme next year

The newly appointed Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture has said an insurance scheme will be introduced next year to ensure that every fisherman receives a basic coverage of MVR 10,000, regardless of the catch.

The insurance scheme was proposed in the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives’ (PPM) manifesto. Speaking to Sun yesterday, Fisheries Minister Dr Mohamed Shainee said the scheme will be implemented in the middle of next year.

“There is a lot of support for the policy from fishermen. This will incentivize the fishermen. They catch more than MVR 10,000 on good fishing days. But if the weather is bad or if the catch is low, there is a degree of despair. We are providing an incentive to overcome this despair to get ready for the next fishing season,” Fisheries Minister said.

Shainee said the program is an installment policy and that they are discussing ways of implementation.

“We are working out a way to maintain the fisherman’s earnings at an average of MVR 10,000. There are some things that need to be done first, like producing a formula and ways to find out which boats actually went fishing. We have to assemble a fisherman’s list too. By the time all this is done, it will be around mid next year before we can start implementation,” Shainee said.

Government seeks to finance the scheme through collecting MVR 500 from each fisherman during the good fishing period of nine months each year. Government also plans to allocate MVR 45 million from the MVR 100 million allocated to subsidies fuel charges for fishing boats and hopes to designate a budget of MVR 90 million for the scheme.

Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture Mohamed Shainee also said the government will begin implementation of PPM and coalition party’s manifesto projects within the first three years of government.