Seaweed Development Programme
Region: South Pacific
Country: Kiribati
Date: 1996 ongoing
Funded By: Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning
The Seaweed Development Programme aims to increase the income of the rural population through the culture, processing and export of seaweed. The project is funded by the European Development Fund and provides management and operations assistance to the Atoll Seaweed Company (ASC), a partly state-owned enterprise. The company buys seaweed from over 1,000 growers and offers credit for the initial purchase of seed stock and ropes. MEP's team is advising on long-term business strategy, which includes increasing the producer base and diversification into different seaweed species, and also on improved procedures for collecting raw material (half the production comes from the Line Islands, over 2,500 miles from ASC's headquarters on the capital island, Tarawa). MEP also provide quarterly reports on world seaweed markets and price trends to ensure that the company remains competitive and maximises its return to the archipelago's seaweed farmers and processors.