Africa-Press – Mauritius. The Country Programme Framework for Mauritius, which sets out government priority areas to guide the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) partnership and support with the Government of the Republic of Mauritius for the period 2022 to 2025, was signed, yesterday, at the Caudan Arts Centre in Port Louis.
The signatories were the Attorney General, Minister of Agro-Industry and Food Security, Mr Maneesh Gobin, and the FAO Representative for Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius, and Seychelles, Mr Mbuli Charles Boliko.
In his address, the Attorney General, Minister of Agro-Industry and Food Security, talked on the three government priority areas as highlighted in the Country Programme Framework for Mauritius.
The first priority, as stated by Mr Gobin, is increasing food self-sufficiency and food security. Minister Gobin also dwelt on the second priority. This concerns the necessity to change the way agriculture is being practised by adopting the climate smart agriculture perspective.
Recalling problems faced by planters at the start of the year following cyclones and torrential rains, Mr Gobin pointed out that climate smart agriculture was an approach that would enable planters to move towards agricultural systems that could best respond to climate change.
As for the third priority relating to women empowerment, the Minister stressed that it would enable better production, thus better lives for all. For his part, Mr Charles Boliko stated that the FAO would provide the technical support with regards to standards and policies.
He underlined that the strength of his Organisation was to transform knowledge into development tools, and that this capacity would be used to assist Mauritius in its agricultural endeavours.
Financed by the FAO to the tune of Rs 153 million, the Strategic Plan aims at facilitating the transition towards a sustainable agricultural approach to adapt to climate change and reaching self-sufficiency in the food and fisheries sector.
It will be implemented through innovative, international best practices and global standards with national and regional expertise over the next four years.
The Framework has been prepared in close collaboration and in consultation with the Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security; the Ministry of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries, and Shipping; the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Welfare; the Ministry of Health and Wellness; the Ministry of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives, and the Rodrigues Regional Assembly.
The document is aligned with the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31 which calls for transformation towards more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agri-food systems through the ‘four betters’ namely better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life.
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