Africa-Press – Mauritius. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding the acquisition of a second harvester for the harvesting of sugar cane by small and medium planters, was signed, this morning, between the Mauritius Cane Industry Authority (MCIA) and the Mauritius Co-operative Agricultural Federation (MCAF) Ltd, in Réduit.
The Attorney General, Minister of Agro-Industry and Food Security, Mr Maneesh Gobin, the Minister of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives, Mr Soomilduth Bholah, the Chief Executive Officer of the MCIA, Mr Satish Purmessur, the General Manager of MCAF Ltd, Mr Sachin Sookna, and other personalities were present.
In his address, Minister Gobin highlighted that this second harvester is being purchased following the success brought about through the signature of the MoU between the MCIA and MCAF Ltd on 22 June 2020 for the acquisition of a first sugarcane harvester and associated field equipment from India.
Speaking about the Russian-Ukrainian war, Mr Gobin stressed that this conflict will not stop so soon and will continue to impact negatively on the global economy as well as on the island’s economy with increasing prices of fertilisers and raw materials.
On this score, he appealed to planters to become self-sufficient in terms of production of fertilisers so as not to depend on importation from Russia and Ukraine which are the two main producers of phosphate.
The war, Mr Gobin underscored, is impacting on the rate of exchange of dollars and in this context several countries around the world are banning exports and he cited two countries, namely Egypt and Argentina to have banned, respectively, the exportation of oil and maize.
The Minister moreover appealed to the population to think outside the box and start finding substitutes to importation, not only as regards foodstuffs but also other products.
On this note, he dwelt on how liquid fertilisers can be produced in Mauritius from molasses instead of using imported traditional salt fertilisers, as well as on the importance of revisiting the Ethanol Framework so as to offset the rising cost of fuel caused by the conflict.
The Minister encouraged workers from non-sugar sectors to regroup themselves in cooperative societies such as MCAF Ltd which will act as a spokesperson to promote and safeguard the agricultural interests of affiliated societies.
For his part, Minister Bholah lauded the initiative of the MCIA and MCAF Ltd for the acquisition of the equipment, which he emphasised will provide immediate and substantial relief to the small and medium sugarcane planters and the industry.
He recalled that for crop 2021 some 6,000 tonnes of sugarcane island-wide belonging to small and medium planters and the Sugar Investment Trust was harvested mechanically covering around 300 Arpents. Furthermore, Mr Bholah highlighted that Government is sensitive to the plight of sugarcane planters.
In the wake of the various challenges which the sugarcane industry is facing both at national and international levels, notably due to COVID-19 and the Russian-Ukrainian war, Government has made it a priority to look into the matter, he reassured. As for Mr Purmessur and Mr Sookna, they pointed out that some 10,000 tonnes of sugarcane island-wide for crop 2022 are expected to be harvested.
They also spoke of their intent to assist planters through the implementation of other measures including offering mechanised services for soil preparation and preparation of plant cuttings, and spraying of herbicides and fertilisers, so as to optimise income.
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