Africa-Press – Mauritius. An aquaponics farm was inaugurated, today, at Mahebourg Espoir Education Centre (MEEC), which forms part of the non-governmental organisation Mahebourg Espoir, in the presence of the Attorney General, Minister of Agro-Industry and Food Security, Mr Maneesh Gobin.
This aquaponics farm project has been implemented within the framework of Cité Zen, an environmental awareness campaign financed by Vivo Energy Mauritius Limited (VEML), and carried out in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, as well as the Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security.
The Managing Director of VEML, Mr Matthias de Larminat; the Director of MEEC, Mr Stellio Sookhun; and other personalities were present at the inauguration ceremony.
In his address, Minister Gobin highlighted that it was encouraging to see the synergy between stakeholders such as MEEC, the Food and Agricultural and Extension Institute and private sector entities so as to promote agriculture among the youth.
He remarked that space was still available at MEEC for further developing agricultural products such as the jackfruit, the breadfruit and other medicinal plants.
Furthermore, the Minister indicated that a memorandum of understanding could be signed so that collaboration could be enhanced between the Ministry of Agro-Industry and the MEEC.
He also stated that activities such as rainwater harvesting, apiculture, and training sessions on food transformation could be envisaged at the Centre.
The transformation process, according to him, could help young people to become agro-industry entrepreneurs and to export their products. For his part, Mr Larminat underscored that globalisation had caused human beings to forget about nature and its importance for food production.
As such, he indicated, the aquaponics farm at MEEC was set up by VEML so as to enable the youth to be connected again to the earth and promote agriculture through an ecological approach.
He recalled that several projects to promote agriculture in schools had also been financed by VEML. In addition, he stressed, VEML developed Cité Zen so as to raise awareness and provide training to young people in several fields, such as road safety and garbage sorting, among others.
As for Mr Sookhun, he observed that the MEEC aimed at offering a second chance to students who had not performed well at Grade 6 level. He also commended VEML for having financed the setting up of the aquaponics farm so as to enable youths at the Centre to be familiar to this method of food production.
MEEC aquaponics farm
Vivo Energy Mauritius is starting its Cité Zen programme “Les petites paumes de terre” by equipping the non-governmental organisation Mahebourg Espoir with an aquaponics farm that can generate organic vegetables and herbs as well as freshwater fish.
The MEEC is responsible for the non-formal education of vulnerable children in Mahebourg and serves breakfast and lunch daily to around sixty youth. The harvest from the aquaponics farm will first be used to supply the canteen kitchen and the surplus will be distributed to the neighbouring community.
Aquaponics is one of the methods of above-ground food production that allows one to eat healthily without compromising natural resources. Halfway between aquaculture and hydroponics, it allows the responsible cultivation of green leafy vegetables thanks to organic fertilisers generated by fish droppings.
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