China Helping Maldives Fight Palm Disease as Two-Year Treatment Plan Takes Shape

MALE’ — The government is working with Chinese agricultural scientists to address a persistent disease affecting coconut palms across the Maldives, with analysis under way at the Hanimaadhoo Agriculture Centre and a two-year treatment plan now in place.

Fisheries and Agriculture Minister Ahmed Shiyam said progress is being made through a collaboration with China’s government, and that islands most severely affected by the disease will be prioritised as solutions are rolled out.

“Based on the analysis done at the Hanimaadhoo centre, solutions are being found for palm diseases through this work carried out with Chinese government support. We are working to bring relief more quickly to the islands where the problem is most widespread,” the minister said.

A team of experts from the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, specifically its Environment and Plant Protection Research Institute, has been working alongside Maldivian authorities on the problem. The ministry said the academy has supplied systemic pesticides to control white scale insects and hispid beetles, two of the main threats to palm trees, and that training sessions on how to apply the treatment have already been held in some islands, including Haa Alif Baarah.

The ministry signed a formal agreement with the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences covering palm disease control and broader plant disease research. A national-level agricultural laboratory has also been established to support disease diagnosis and research, addressing a long-standing gap in the country’s capacity to identify and respond to crop threats.

The ministry said taking action without first conducting proper research into how diseases spread and how they can be eliminated is not a sustainable approach. The two-year plan is designed to address that, though work is ongoing to bring in greater private sector and state company participation to sustain the programme beyond that timeframe.

Palm disease has been a concern for Maldivian farmers and island communities for years, affecting both the agricultural output of inhabited islands and the country’s broader food security goals.