Africa-Press – Mauritius. A ceremony for the payment of the Winter Allowance to tea growers was held this morning at Grand Bois Social Welfare Centre. It was organised by the Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security in collaboration with the Small Farmers Welfare Fund (SFWF).
This year, some 1,132 tea planters are benefitting from the scheme for a total amount of Rs 3,171,227.33. An amount of Rs 1.50 per kilo of tea leaves harvested is being paid to planters in connection with the shortfall in production incurred by planters for the winter period for crop season 2020/21.
The Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Dr Renganaden Padayachy, the Attorney General, Minister of Agro-Industry and Food Security, Mr Maneesh Gobin, the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal, and other personalities were present at the event.
In his address, Minister Padayachy spoke about various fiscal incentives implemented by the authorities over the years in favour of the well-being of Mauritians and these include the payment of Rs 9000 as old age pension and the introduction of the National Minimum Wage.
The philosophy of Government, he emphasised, is to work for the welfare of the population at large. He likewise stated that measures aimed at better supporting planters have also been introduced such as the present Winter Allowance.
The Minister moreover appealed to tea planters to pursue their activities as the land is precious and should be preserved. As for Minister Gobin, he recalled that Mauritius is going through a difficult phase due to the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He called upon citizens to maintain all sanitary precautions at all cost and encouraged citizens to come forward for their booster dose to fight against the virus.
The Minister highlighted that the 2020 lockdown had negatively impacted on the production of tea and thus Rs 8,000 was paid as a one-off grant to tea planters to assist them.
He also underscored the important role and aim of the SFWF for the agriculture sector. Finally, he added that it is crucial to first of all cater for the health of citizens, then stabilise the economy and bring about development across all sectors.
For his part, Minister Jagutpal lauded the Winter Allowance initiative which will allow tea planters to earn their livelihoods and improve their conditions given the complicated present context.
He encouraged tea planters to keep on working in their plantations and observed that several other sectors of the economy are also availing of incentives provided by Government.
In addition, Dr Jagutpal dwelt on the various health benefits of tea consumption and its lasting impact on an individual’s wellness such as decreasing the level of cholesterol and protecting the heart.
The income support payable under the Winter Allowance is as follows: the Income Support will be paid for all planters who have delivered their tea leaves production to the factory for the Crop Season 2020/21, but will be calculated based on quantity of tea leaves they have delivered for the five months pertaining to Crop Season 2020/21; the payment of the Winter Allowance is conducted based on the official lists to tea planters (containing among others the respective production of each tea planter/ as submitted by the National Agricultural Products Regulatory Office to the SFWF).
It is recalled that National Budget 2021/22, in line with Government’s objective of boosting the tea sector, provides the for the funding to the tune of Rs 5 million to operate the Tea Sector Support Scheme whereby free fertiliser will be provided to small tea planters and the Scheme to assist them in increasing their field productivity.
Funding, is also made, to the tune of Rs 7.7 million to provide an Income Support (Winter Allowance) to tea growers in connection with the shortfall in production for the winter period.
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