Africa-Press – Mauritius. As part of the project, ‘Transformation of Belle Mare into a climate-smart agriculture village for climate resilience, food security and poverty alleviation of its farmers’, some 100 planters from Belle Mare were each remitted vouchers for a 1000L water tank and a drip irrigation system with a view to promoting an efficient and conservative use of water.
The climate-smart agriculture village project is undertaken by the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Mauritius (UoM) in partnership with the Mauritius Co-operative Agricultural Federation Ltd.
Its overall objective is to help planters develop climate resilience by transforming their present-day conventional agriculture into climate-smart agriculture.
It is funded by the European Union (EU) under its Global Climate Change Alliance Plus (GCCA+) flagship programme on climate-smart agriculture to the tune of Rs 12 m. The remaining 20% of the project is covered by the Australian High Commission in Mauritius.
In that context, a ceremony for the launching of the water tank and drip irrigation system and the handing over of vouchers to the 100 beneficiaries was held, yesterday, at Long Beach Hotel in Belle Mare.
During the ceremony, SUN Resorts Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the MCAF for the supply to its hotels of vegetables, cultivated under the climate-smart agriculture initiative by the 100 Belle Mare planters.
The Minister of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives, Mr Soomilduth Bholah; the Minister of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping, Mr Sudheer Maudhoo; the Head of Cooperation of the Delegation of the EU to the Republic of Mauritius, Mr Milko Van Gool; the Chargé d’Affaires of the Australian High Commission, Ms Keara Shaw; the Vice-Chancellor of the UoM, Prof Sanjeev Sobhee; and other personalities were present at the event.
In his speech for the occasion, Minister Bholah lauded the efforts of all the stakeholders in making the climate-smart agriculture project a success. He also extended his appreciation to the EU and the Australian High Commission for their financial contribution.
According to Mr Bholah, it is imperative to adapt to climate change, improve food security and enhance the quality of life in light of the consequences of climate change and disrupted weather system, both at local and global levels, on food production.
“Indeed, investing in the resilience of small famers is investing in food security and in communities,” he stated.
The Minister of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives underlined that Government was committed to provide all facilities to planters to enable them to adopt innovative and sustainable approaches to increase food production and achieve food security.
He mentioned, among others, training in aquaponics, hydroponics, and food processing; schemes for sheltered farming, as well as distribution of bio-fertilisers. Mr Bholah urged the planters to appraise themselves, and avail, of the various schemes and plans provided by the Ministry.
For his part, the Minister of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping underlined that the water tank and dripping system were being given at an opportune time as the country would face its driest month in terms of rain precipitation soon, namely in October.
He recalled too that under the climate-smart agriculture initiative, planters of Belle Mare received equipment such as vehicle, composters and sprayers; training in climate-smart agriculture technology’; bio-fertilisers, seeds, plants and other inputs.
He urged them to make good use of these tools and resources. Furthermore, Mr Maudhoo stressed that food security was high on the agenda of Governments worldwide and commended all partners of the climate-smart agriculture project.
He invited other hotels to develop similar collaboration to that of SUN Resort Group by entering agreements for the provision of vegetables from local planters. The Minister was of the view that such collaborative endeavours would contribute to encourage local food production and reduce the country’s imports.
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