Fazla Yusoof from Maldives receives the FAO Model Farmer Award

Bangkok, Thailand – As countries around the world wrap up a week of observances in relation to World Food Day, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in the Asia-Pacific region has convened a special ceremony to mark the achievements of farmers, fishers and pastoralists and their innovative work to feed an increasingly hungry world.

On behalf of FAO, Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand, presented FAO Model Farmer Awards to five agriculturalists from the Asia-Pacific region. The Princess is a UN FAO Special Ambassador for Zero Hunger.

The five recipients – three women and two men – traveled to Bangkok from Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Maldives, Thailand and Vanuatu. The Model Farmer Awards are an annual fixture of FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. FAO member countries in the region are approached on a rotational basis to participate in the event and their governments propose the individual candidates to receive the awards.

Ms Fazla Yusoof, a fish processor in the Maldives was presented the FAO Model Farmer Award for her contribution to the fisheries industry.

The story of a courageous woman

Until recent years, more than 90 percent of fish exported from the Maldives went to only one country: Sri Lanka. Fazla Yoosuf has changed that.

Model farmers are not usually managing directors. Fazla Yoosuf, however, is, and she and her company Maldive Marine Products have expanded the markets for Maldivian fish exports to Europe and other continents.

Fazla is the daughter of a small-scale fisherman. Initially, she studied to work in tourism, which is the Maldives’ other major industry. In 2002, while looking for new challenges, Fazla and her husband found one. There was only one seafood-processing plant in the country.

The pair saw that as an opportunity. They decided to pour their savings into starting a new company and opening a seafood-processing plant of their own. Fazla soon realized, however, that she didn’t know enough about business. So she spent the next three years obtaining her MBA. In the meantime, her husband won a seat in parliament. When she returned to her company, she was in charge, and she was brimming with ideas.

The company acquired new machinery, equipment, and technologies to bring her plant up to international standards. The company wanted to penetrate new markets, so Fazla introduced advanced processes and pursued higher standards. She achieved an ISO and other certifications to gain entry to those markets.

Fishing is the lifeblood of her nation, but fishing is still a hard life. The ripple effect of Fazla’s success is that fishers in the Maldives are doing better than ever.

She and her company have trained fishers in better methods of handling their catch, so they lose less of it to spoilage and she has invested in cold storage facilities.

With access to more markets fishers can sell more of their catch to Fazla for processing and export at better prices. That means more income, less hunger, and an improved outlook for the future.

Fazla’s success has led to others opening companies to compete with her. As the pioneer who is still hungry for innovations, however, Fazla Yoosuf will most likely remain the Big Fish of Maldives fishing industry for many years to come.