Q&A: Shahida Zubair, Organic Maldives
25 Oct 2011, 6:33 PM
Eleanor Johnstone
Shahida Zubair is the founder of Island Organics Maldives Pvt. Ltd., which in 2007 funded the Maldives’ first organic farm on Maarikilu, Baa Atoll. In an interview with Minivan News, Zubair describes the methods which are transforming Maarikilu’s sandy and low-nutrient terrain into agriculturally productive and sustainable soil. The method could help reduce the country’s heavy dependency on foreign imports, fuel and pesticides while improving nutritional value and civilian economic independence.
Eleanor Johnstone: When, how and why was your farm established?
Shahida Zubair: The idea of starting an organic farm came from my experiences of visiting agricultural islands in Maldives. For years I have seen agricultural workers using highly toxic synthetic fertilisers and chemical pesticides on their crops, entirely oblivious and ignorant of the damage they cause the soil and the environment, not to mention expensive for the farmers themselves.
Simply explaining the concept of organic farming to these farmers was not effective, so I realised that my skills as an ecologist could be utilised to demonstrate the concept of organic farming, an ecologically sustainable form of agriculture which works in harmony with the environment. I therefore founded the company Island Organics in 2007, and began successfully cultivating and producing organically-grown produce on Maarikilu, Baa Atoll.
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