Africa-Press – Mauritius. A two-day national workshop on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Agriculture opened, this morning, in Port Louis. The Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Alan Ganoo; and the Counsellor, WTO Secretariat, Mr Javier Ocampo, were present.
A joint initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade and the WTO, this workshop is seeing the participation of some 20 representatives from several institutions and departments.
They include: Agricultural Marketing Board; Economic Development Board; University of Mauritius; Mauritius Sugar Syndicate; Mauritius Chamber of Agriculture; National Plant Protection Office; Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and National Parks and Conservation Service.
In his address, Minister Ganoo highlighted that the agricultural sector plays an important role in the economy of Mauritius. The contribution of agriculture to the national GDP was estimated at 3.9% in the year 2020 out of which the share of the sugar sector was around 13% and total employment in the sector was around 6.4% in the same year, he said.
He however observed that Mauritius is highly vulnerable because as a Net-Food Importing Developing Country, it imports around 77% of its food requirements.
The gap between local food production and consumption, he added, has continued to widen during the past five years resulting in an increasing dependency on imported food.
In that context, he underlined that Government has during the past years embarked on the promotion of the local agricultural production, agro-processing, and smart agriculture. He outlined the measures taken so as to improve our food security and reduce our dependency on imported food.
They include: implementation of the Food Security Strategy; and optimisation of land resources through a centralised land bank in order to ensure better allocation of land to farmers.
Minister Ganoo further pointed out that the country ambitions to promote itself as an agro-processing hub with the assistance of the African Development Bank adding that a feasibility study for the setting up of a Special Agro – processing zone will be undertaken shortly.
Speaking about agricultural negotiations, he stated that Mauritius has always been engaged in such negotiations at the WTO. He underlined that there is a need to achieve outcomes that addresses the structural causes of food and livelihood insecurity and fosters the building of resilient agricultural sector.
He also dwelt on the vulnerability of Mauritius as a Small Island Developing State which is exacerbated by the massive support which the developed and large developing countries provide to their agricultural sector.
As a result, we have to compete on unequal terms with those who are providing huge domestic support and hence impacting our competitiveness, he said. As regards negotiations in agriculture, Minister Ganoo stated that they are a highly complex and technically demanding exercise and are very important for access to food.
He recalled that Government aims for a successful outcome of the agriculture negotiations for Mauritius adding that mastering the concepts and developing the skill necessary to negotiate effectively can be a challenge.
Hence the importance of the national workshop which is intended to help negotiators and stakeholders have a better understanding of these concepts and techniques, and be better prepared to engage with our partners, he said.
For his part, the Counsellor of the WTO Secretariat, Mr Javier Ocampo, gave an overview of the objectives of the workshop. It aims to familiarise participants with the Agreement on Agriculture, of Mauritius’ rights and obligations under the Agreement, and the available tools at the WTO to help them better implement and negotiate.
He recalled that the workshop is part of an important work carried out by the WTO. He underlined that apart from the negotiations, technical assistance, and capacity building are crucial elements in the development dimension of the multilateral trading system. He commended Mauritius for its interest in the workshop and the importance the country places in the multilateral trading system.
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