SHYAMAPARSAD BISNAUTHSING
On two occasions recently, the Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth stressed on the importance of concentrating our efforts in reaching self-sufficiency in as far as food crops vegetables and fruits are concerned. The question that needs to be answered is whether these sincere messages are catching the attention of those concerned players in contributing successfully to meet the goals.
Mention is also being made that Covid-19 has impacted our present economic status as well as our social conditions. It is also an undisputed fact that the marketplace is playing an increasingly important role in the lives of thousands of small holder agro producers in Mauritius. Government support to Agriculture is generally in decline notwithstanding the fact that the Covid Solidarity Fund is an emanation of contributions from the whole population. Nevertheless, it needs to be agreed that every single cent invested by government is meant for economic development and the boosting up of revenues to the Exchequer.
With the already dire times being faced and the uncertainties looming ahead, farmers will have to fight many challenges to get the ball rolling in providing an adequate supply of vegetables and fruits. Since they are great risk-takers and dependent on farming for their livelihood or for rounding up the family budget, they will surely show their resilience and fight back but with many difficulties.
Dynamic need-based process
In this struggle, the handholding and accompanying measures of the technical and extension services will definitely be of paramount importance. Extension is basically a communication exercise and also a dynamic need-based process. It cannot remain static and be dependent on the budget and the will of those serving the purpose. Officers need to be visibly present in the fields of the farmers and also in the backyard projects of non-farmers. Moreover, those showing interest in food crop production should definitely be considered and encouraged to become entrepreneurs for transformation projects. As such, a good need-based program for them is of utmost importance.
Officers need not be confined to the office as they ought to be in the fields along with the farmers, and never alone except in exceptional circumstances.
Agricultural Projects and Policy Analysis Unit
As part of their duties as Development Officers of Ministry of Agro Industry and Food Security, they carry out regular/daily field visits in different localities under their respective jurisdictions and during each visit they meet around 8 to 10 planters or livestock keepers. As such, they are a store house of useful available data of the areas under their jurisdiction and a blueprint for a development program can easily be worked out for the scope and prospects for development of the farming potential of the country. Here FAREI can use ICT and other proven Communication Exercises, to provide real time information to farmers so that the latter can better plan their activities and choice of crops.
It is unfortunate to note that till date very little Information Technology is being applied for the day-to-day farming activities. The website of FAREI is well designed but it is not farmer friendly as it is not accessible to the average farmer. Information dissemination could be channeled through a call center for more effectiveness as it would avoid displacements unless in exceptional circumstances. The data which has been collected by Extension Officers and Research Scientists on the field could be regularly fed to a data center for effective use in program planning. As such, the actual field situation and the required shortcomings could be addressed and actions would be known by the organisation at no additional or extra costs.
The data collected, which would be very useful in all future planning and forecasting exercises, is the very foundation of a strong economy. In case of lacking, faulty or inconsistent data and time consuming data-processing, one does not stand any chance. In this way, unlike what is being hammered regularly, it is the present and not the past that determines the future one wants; consequently, the volume of substantial data from the planters that include planters’ and planting situations, field conditions and substantial budgetary data allocations from the Organisation or Government will be essential in chalking the way forward and thankfully, FAREI is in possession of both. Here the expertise and involvement of the Agricultural Projects and Policy Analysis Unit (APPAU) of the Ministry would be of prime importance.
Accordingly, interesting schemes, after analysis of the field and market data, could be worked out to create a win-win situation as it was in the eighties when the country was self-sufficient in potatoes and producing and marketing dry maize cobs amongst others. It is time to create situations when farmers could be more easily linked to vertical markets in the supply chain.
Since many years, the AREU – now FAREI – had taken as mission to explore every economic potential of each crop grown in Mauritius through the various possibilities of transformation and minimal processing. With the technical support under the NPIP project and Food Security Fund, attempts were made and the initiatives did bear fruits. Aggressive training programs were launched and sensitisation campaigns were undertaken. Many budding entrepreneurs were initiated and many have set up successful business in pickling and other food processing sectors at medium and micro level. As such, a store house of opportunities exists and those are unfortunately not tapped by farmers and farmer organisations.
The Training Division is performing in a lackluster manner. Technology Development and other farmer development meetings are becoming a rare commodity. Farming News, which was a monthly mouth piece of Extension Division, is obsolete.
Unfortunately during the last years, a letdown in the Agro Industry and Food Security segments had been noted and acknowledged publicly even by the Prime Minister. The causes and effects are right there and it is not a herculean task to finetune and work out remedial actions. The Ministry has the capacity required; it just needs thinking out of the box, analyze and bring out the remedial factors and harness all necessary efforts to implement those.
Research and Development Institute
We need a strong and proactive Research and Development Institute that would meet the aspirations of its clients in putting up a system wherein the aspirations of its clients (vegetables, fruits and livestock producers) are met. To achieve this, a thorough study and understanding of all the existing situational elements, which should be available by now from the frontline Extension Officers and their supervisors out of their daily field visits wherein they have met, observed and assisted farmers by tendering advice to their problems and other related issues. Adequate resources and funds should be budgeted and provided for… and this is the challenge for the CEO, especially during these days of economic difficulties! All technical and support staff including all mid-management personnel along with APPAU need to be taken on board in formulating and monitoring mechanisms and procedures for effective project implementation and treating farming as a business activity with the applications of all the related scientific disciplines including post-harvest technologies and not merely an occupation.
Year in, year out, plantations and farms suffer from the vagaries of climate causing a situation of irregular supply of fresh vegetables and if ever those are available, they are automatically offered at rates that not everybody can afford and as every time the farmers fall back for compensations from government. This has become so recurrent and solutions to the problem need to be worked out.
Major actions are urgently needed to find out whether we are adopting the right approach for food production. Whether inputs like quality planting materials, soil health enhancers and also whether farmers are operating in the right environment by acting individually or group themselves into corporates (companies), to benefit from the economies of scales and break away from the “tiplanter” economy with the support of Government. Around the world there is a paradigm shift. This process might be the solution in creating a new generation of farmers and create the appropriate environment to reach self-sufficiency and ensure a Food Security condition for Mauritius and also be known as a food-exporting nation.