Prioritizing Food Sovereignty in Mauritius
While food security is crucial, Prioritizing Food Sovereignty in Mauritius—our ability to produce locally what we consume. The pandemic and global conflicts like the war in Ukraine have exposed our vulnerability due to heavy reliance on imports. In early 2024, food imports exceeded Rs 12 billion. We must identify products that can be efficiently produced locally and establish sustainable substitution mechanisms.
Steps to Enhance Local Food Production
A strategic agricultural plan involving all stakeholders is essential to boost production, improve access to technology, and support producers. Challenges include an aging agricultural workforce, labor shortages, and competition with imports. Solutions include better planning, creating a market information system, and investing in storage and transformation to address seasonality.
Changing consumption habits is also key. By choosing local and seasonal produce, such as sweet potatoes, cassava, or local fruits like papaya and mangoes, we can reduce our import bills. Both producers and consumers play a role in this shift
Support for Modern and Ecological Farming Methods
The Mauritius Chamber of Agriculture launched the Smart Agriculture project in 2015, promoting agroecological practices that reduce chemical inputs and pesticides. A pilot project showed that supported farmers maintained their income while cutting pesticide use by 57% from 2020 to 2022. The Chamber also offers training for new farmers to equip them with essential agricultural skills.
Improving Storage and Distribution
Reducing food losses requires four key actions: enhancing farming practices, better production planning, installing storage and processing units near production zones, and implementing agricultural policies that protect producers from climatic risks and market fluctuations.
Chamber of Agriculture Initiatives
The Chamber actively participates in various councils and supports initiatives to boost food sovereignty. Through its efforts, the Chamber advocates for smart, efficient food production that avoids unnecessary imports and reduces waste. By encouraging local and seasonal consumption, we can collectively enhance our food security.
