Operation of government's agriculture company, Agro National Corporation (AgroNat) has been halted effective yesterday.
Operation of government's agriculture company, Agro National Corporation (AgroNat) has been halted effective yesterday.
AgroNat was formed during the administration of former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in 2020. At present, the company employs 182 staff members.
The company said that it has ceased all transactions with farmers and agricultural workers from November 30 onwards.
Last September, the government decided to shut down AgroNat and transfer its work under the Maldives Industrial Development Free Zone (MIDFZ).
Although AgroNat services are now halted, no employees have been let go as of yet, and continue to report to work.
AgroNat said that at present they are conducting transition work to transfer their operations under MIDFZ.
The aim in establishing AgroNat had been to promote agriculture in the Maldives, and to decrease the varieties of fresh produce that need to be imported.
While there are about 30 State Owned Enterprises in operation, only about half of these are profitable. The government is necessitated to spend large sums from the State budget to keep the companies in operation. In order to bring down these costs, the government has decided to liquidate some companies, merge others, and to transfer others as subsidiaries of better managed companies.
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