Young professionals - World Food Day 2017 : Mauritius needs to be self-sufficient

“Invest in food security and rural development” is the theme of World Food Day 2017 observed on 16 October 2017. As per the Strategic Plan (2016-2020) for the Food Crop, Livestock and Forestry Sectors, Mauritius is a net food importer with imports close to 77% of its food requirements. Imported agricultural products were valued at Rs 36.4 billion. Main items imported include wheat, rice, oil, fresh fruits, meat and milk. Over the last five years, this gap has been rising, indicating an increasing dependency on imported food. Is it not the time for Mauritius to be self-sufficient?

Yaadav Damree : “More concentration on bio farming”

We import nearly three quarter of our foods, and the contribution of the agricultural sector to GPD is decreasing, says Yaadav Damree. “This leads us to seriously consider the problem of food security in the coming years. One of the best solutions is to make Mauritius a self sufficient country. The government must put more emphasis on providing more land for food production and also concentrate more on bio-farming.”

He believes that the conversion of agricultural land to residential and commercial purposes must be reduced. “In providing more land for food production, the interest of young people to join the agricultural sector will increase and this will result in the increase of better food production in the future. Since the production of our own food will face an increase, our government can buy those productions at better prices, and this will encourage more Mauritians to grow their own food, that is doing more home gardening. This will not only benefit us in terms of food security, but also imports will be easily reduced and eventually leading to a positive impact on our economy.” 

He further adds that “Government and NGOs must set up specific programs to prevent food wastage. Furthermore, another important recommendation is using more of our marine resources, that is, aquaculture. This can increase more production on the local market. Proper development of policies is highly needed in regards to our agricultural sector to deal with food security problems.” 

Anousha Junggee : “Food waste is becoming an issue”

Anousha Junggee underlines that there is an urgent need to create awareness on food security in our country since we rely too heavily on foreign countries. “For a small island like Mauritius, it is unacceptable that we import most of our fruits, vegetables and even meat and seafood. It is not an exaggeration to say that Mauritians are not aware about the subject. Food is way too cheap and accessible for most of us, that’s why most of us do not consider developing ways to improve sustainable agricultural productivity. Food waste is becoming a global issue. It is also a serious environmental issue. So, there is a need to educate our people on food security and food waste. Just think of the economic, environmental and social benefits that would flow if we did not waste so much food and were more conscious about food security.”

Shakinah Ramjane : “An integrated policy framework is needed”

Shakinah Ramjane states that many developing countries are currently facing serious hitches of food supply and security with the recent explosion in food prices. “Undeniably, this increase in ‘global food crisis’ is likely to persist because of some drastic changes in the world food system. As a result, this has caused immediate repercussions in Mauritius. This is because more than 70% of our food products are imported, indicating a high level of import dependency. Consequently, there is a compelling need for our island to have more auto-sufficiency when it comes to food security!” She further argues that in order to address this challenge, there should be more effective actions at various levels. “The government needs to adopt an integrated policy framework to aid newer farming techniques like irrigation facilities, availability of better quality seeds at an affordable price, fertilizers and credits at lower interest rates. One main reason why food is not distributed equitably is that a significant amount is wasted. It would be useful to adopt strategies for food storage. For example, China has an excellent system of grain storage education and research. We can seek help from China for the building of advanced storage facilities that are armoured with modern equipment; hence the food grains could be used during any food crisis.” 

One of the best ways to ensure direct access to good quality food could be the concept of home gardening, she says. “One excellent example of household gardening can be seen in Bangladesh. When community leaders contribute through a group approach, it will ultimately ensure active public participation. Similarly, as we know, women are the key drivers of change in agriculture. Farming must provide attractive social and economic development opportunities for people living in villages, particularly women and the hundreds of millions of young people who are jobless.”

Soumayyah Furreedan : “Make food security an integral part of urban development”

The issue of food and food security is generating quite a buzz in Mauritius, highlights Soumayyah. She argues that typical Mauritian farmers are around 50 to 60 years of age, with very little formal education and mostly non tech-savvy. “They transplant seedlings, weed till and harvest with a dexterity that can only happen within years and years of experience. Everything has always been done like this. A food secure future must start with the hands that grow our food, so we need to get farmers educated, to embrace the ideal spirit of organic agriculture, rather than the economics of it,” she adds.

She states that we should initiate Agripreneurship, which will offer the possibility of fresh perspectives, innovations and improvements in the sector. “It will also thrive in an environment where access to credit is easy, especially for those with transformative ideas of sustainable developments. Ageing agricultural production needs technology and ‘fresh blood’ to compensate for the physical deficiencies currently plaguing the sector. The government must also promote food security as an integral part of urban planning.”