Principal Minister Wallace Cosgrow, Minister for Fisheries, Agriculture, and Blue Economy, led the Seychelles delegation to the African SIDS Solutions and Investment Forum, held from 3 to 5 March 2026 in São Tomé and Príncipe. The forum was supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations through its FAO Hand-in-Hand Initiative, under the theme “Big Ocean States Leading the Wave of Agrifood Systems Transformation.”
The forum aimed to address the geographic and economic isolation of African SIDS while harnessing their potential in agrifood systems and the blue economy. A key objective was to promote investment opportunities through stronger partnerships among African SIDS member states and a wide range of stakeholders, including the private sector.
During the forum, Minister Wallace Cosgrow was also appointed to chair the African SIDS Ministerial and Parliamentarian Network for the next two years. Throughout his panel presentation, Minister Wallace Cosgrow highlighted several financing mechanisms and policy reforms implemented in Seychelles to facilitate the development of agrifood systems in both the fisheries and agricultural sectors. These include the review and modernization of the Agriculture Development Fund (ADF) and the expansion of Seychelles’ Blue Economy financing architecture, particularly through the Blue Investment Fund.
One of the selected ITN projects for Seychelles, “Agrivoltaics controlled-environment for crop production will benefit the farmers, who are faced with the ever-mounting challenges of climate change and other natural inherent factors that impede crop production throughout the year. These initiatives align with the Government of Seychelles’ emphasis on strengthening the role of science, innovation, and technology in transforming agrifood systems and improving national food security.
Principal Minister Cosgrow was accompanied to the forum by Mr. Keven Nancy, Principal Secretary for Agriculture; Mrs. Sara Estico, Principal Policy Analyst; and Ms. Audrey Zelia, FAO National Programme Coordinator for Seychelles.
