The presentation of the main findings of the Final Project Restitution entitled "Smart Agriculture: vers la réduction des produits phytosanitaires en agriculture vivrière", were presented this morning during a ceremony organised by the Mauritius Chamber of Agriculture at the Food and Agricultural Research and Extension Institute's (FAREI) Farmers Training School in Wooton.
The Second Secretary of Delegation of European Union (EU) in Mauritius, Mr Massimiliano Messi; the Executive Director of the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council (MRIC), Professor Theesan Bahorun; the Secretary General of the Mauritius Chamber of Agriculture (MCA), Mrs Jacqueline Sauzier; and other personalities were present on the occasion.
The project amounting to some Rs 20 million, spanned over four years and was financed by the MRIC and the EU in collaboration with the FAREI and the "Centre International en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement" (CIRAD). The overall goal is to raise the national food security level by maintaining self-sufficiency through a shift to sustainable agricultural practices and using methods of production and protection that are eco-friendly and conducive to safer and better human nutrition.
In his address, Mr Messi underlined the unprecedented challenges faced by the agricultural sector amid the COVID-19 pandemic adding that the situation propelled the world to come up with new techniques and researches to ensure global food security.
Mauritius, he said, is greatly dependent on the importation of food commodities, with imports of around 70% of its food requirements. Mauritius, he added, must deploy all means and ways to boost its local production and become self-sufficient with the rise in prices of food commodities, aggravated by the Russia- Ukraine war.
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Mr Messi stressed that the EU will continue to collaborate with Mauritius in terms of financial support, research and training to enhance production techniques so that the country becomes resilient to climate change and boosts its food production activities. The aim is to produce good quality products at competitive prices, he said.
He also spoke on the need to innovate the agricultural sector for a more sustainable food production and called on the public, private and all stakeholders to encourage smart agriculture across the country.
For his part, Professor Bahorun indicated that according to the Food Agricultural Organization, Mauritius among the biggest pesticides users and that the country has recorded an increase of 22% of use of pesticides in 2020. He also spoke on the effects of pesticides on the quality of soil and as well as on the health of consumers.
The Smart Agriculture project, he pointed out, was initiated with a view to identify new techniques to ameliorate the quality of soil, reduce the significant use of pesticides and sensitise planters on the effects of the use of pesticides. He urged for the adoption of smart agriculture so as to reduce the risks associated with the use of pesticides.
As for Mrs Sauzier, she said that as per the findings of the study, planters can produce good quality food despite reducing the use of pesticides. Smart Agriculture, is a game changer for the sector that will enable planters to meet the demands of consumers at more affordable prices, she emphasised. The project, she underlined necessitates some basic investments that will enable planters to gain in the long term as it will enhance soil fertility, thus boost productivity.
