Mauritius can be classified as one of the country with the highest pesticides usage from 2015- 2018. According to Gina Bonne,Head of the Environment and Climate Change Department for the Indian Ocean Commission, there is no way which can discourage planters from not using any pesticides in their agriculture or plantations. ” There’s an abusive usage of pesticides in the agricultural plantations and there is no control how much is being used in fields” claimed Raffick Chatharoo, president of the Mauritius Planters Association (MPA). This abusive use of pesticides are due to pests or insects that affects plants growing in the open air.
As there isn’t a high demand for hydroponic or biologically tested products, the demand of pesticides keep rising. “Pesticides can save our plants”, says a sugarcane planter. This planter affirms that there is for sure an abusive use of pesticides and shares the same opinion as Mr. Anand Phalad, the ex- president of MPA. Mrs Gina Bonne confirms that despite the fact that we will never be able to eliminate the use of pesticides, but we can, in the long term decrease its uses when people will be fully aware of its side effects. In the long term, people may start to use hydroponic or biologically tested products that will do no harm to their products/ plantations and that will also protect them from pests and insects. Some planters tend to be too addicted to pesticides that they only think of their plantations and ignore the bad effect which can affect our planet. According to the president of MPA, as not everyone can afford to buy hydroponic or biologically tested fruits or vegetables each week, they want to come up with an idea to solve atleast half of the issues.
Source: https://defimedia.info/usage-abusif-des-pesticides-maurice-les-planteurs-face-un-dilemme-entre-bonne-recolte-et-sante
