Background
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Mauritius is a small island of 1,965 square kilometers (186,475 hectares) tucked in the South West Indian Ocean, in latitude 20 degrees South and longitude 57 degrees east. To its west, at some 2,000 km is the African Continent, Mozambique and at some 855 km is Madagascar. In 2000, the population of Mauritius was estimated at around 1.2 million.
Agriculture occupies around 44% of the arable land area. Land under agricultural production has declined drastically. In 2002, land under agricultural cultivation was estimated to be approximately 80,000 hectares, of which sugar accounted for 90%. tea 1%, other crops 9%.
The contribution of agriculture in the economy has decreased over the years from 23% in the late 70’s to 16% in 1983 and 6% in 2000. Sugarcane constitutes the bulk of this share with 53%. Food-crops account for 17%, livestock 12%, while flowers, fruits and forestry account for the remaining 4% of the share of Agriculture in the GDP.
From a mono-crop economy in early 1970s, Mauritius has transformed its economy: the main pillars of the economy are tourism, textile, financial and recently information technology has joined in. |
Constraints in growth of agriculture
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Mauritius suffers from a number of inherent constraints, including inter alia: a narrow domestic market, land scarcity and a high cost of production which keeps rising. However, within various existing regional economic platforms, Mauritius is looking forward to contribute toward a regional development agenda by investing in the region. Mauritius has already ventured in investing in agriculture in the region. |
Policies and strategies regarding the non-sugar sector will have to consider the challenges, namely:
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a) Production of a larger volume of quality food-crops to satisfy the needs of a much higher inflow of tourists and meet the demand generated by a higher per capita consumption of fruits and vegetables of a population increasingly aspiring to healthier life style
b) Production of a wider variety of food-crops to cater for the growing demand for safer and higher quality food; and
c) Reducing cost of production through increased productivity per unit area of land and per unit cost of investment. |
Strategies to meet these challenges
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Sugar Sector
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The future prospects for the Sugar Industry are not too bright with decreasing revenue, fierce increasing competition and limited scope for development. The way forward is in revisiting and reengineering of the existing service providing institutions in the Sugar Industry to respond to the new needs of stakeholders of the Sugar Sector
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Non Sugar Sectors
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Adding value is vital for the survival of the first process in the food chain: Agriculture. Along the corporate lines, to be profitable it is essential that through growing, processing, distribution, and market chain, skills are applied by farmers, growers and fishers. At all points along the chain, ways are being found to facilitate the addition of value profitably: through strategies regarding Safety, Supply, Quality, and Innovation.
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Safety
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Operationalisation of the Food Technology Laboratory
Improving phytosanitary norms
Setting up of a Quarantine Station
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Supply |
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In view of increasing effective land area:
a) Releasing 500 Arpents of land for small-and medium-sized agricultural production
b) Derocking of 2000 Arpents
c) Irrigation of 200 Arpents of land for small planters
d) Creation of database for agricultural land.
e) Easy access to seeds and planting material at Agricultural Service Centre Outlets, (the main points of sale are Barkly, Quatre-Bornes, Abercrombie and Feed Sale Centres) |
Forestry Sector |
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Formulation of a National Forest Policy
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Conservation Sector
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Setting up of an Arboretum in view of creating a Gene Bank for rare endemic plants
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The main Departments/Unit of the Ministry are:
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- Agricultural Services -
https://agriculture.govmu.org/Pages/Agricultural-services.aspx
- Forestry Service - (https://forestry.govmu.org)
- National Parks and Conservation Service - (https://npcs.govmu.org)
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The twelve Para-statal bodies under the aegis of the Ministry are:
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- Food and Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (FAREI) - (http://farei.mu/farei/)
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- Agricultural Marketing Board (AMB): https://ambmauritius.mu/
Provides and ensures efficient marketing for all controlled products at fair and reasonable prices and operates or provides for operation of storage, handling, transport and processing facilities in respect of these products as well as the regulation of their standard and quality.
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- Small Farmers Welfare Funds (SFWF) - https://sfwf.govmu.org/
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- Mauritius Meat Authority (MMA) : - https://agriculture.govmu.org/Pages/Departments/Mauritius-Meat-Authority.aspx
Manages the Abattoir and controls and regulates the sale of meat and meat products. It is essentially concerned with the slaughter of cattle, sheep, goats and pigs.
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- Mauritius Society for Animal Welfare (MSAW) -
https://www.msaw-mu.org/
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- Sugar Insurance Fund Board (SIFB) -
https://www.sifb.mu/
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- Sugar Investment Trust (SIT) - http://www.sit.mu/
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- Irrigation Officer (IA): - https://ia.govmu.org/
studies the development of irrigation activities and makes proposals to CWA for preparation schemes for the irrigation of specific areas
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- Mauritius Cane Insurance Authority (MCIA) - http://mcia.mu/
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- Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden Trust (SSRBG) - https://ssrbg.govmu.org/
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Vallee D'Osterlog Endemic Garden Foundation -
http://valleedosterlog.govmu.org/
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- Rose Belle Sugar Estate Board (RBSEB) -
http://rbseb.net/
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