Republic of Mauritius- Agroforestry development project to enhance rural livelihoods and agriculture productivity

The TCP project will build capacity and raise awareness for the promotion and adoption of agroforestry, build knowledge on the status of underutilised and abandoned agricultural land which can be used for agroforestry expansion, develop and demonstrate agroforestry technologies at various demonstration sites, and develop a National Action Plan for the up scaling of agroforestry in the country.

Agroforestry involves the planting of trees, shrubs and crops simultaneously so as to manage land in a more sustainable and natural way. It is expected that the proposed agroforestry development will contribute to food and nutritional security, sustain livelihoods, alleviate poverty, and promote productive and resilient cropping environments. It will also contribute towards enhancing biodiversity, protecting water resources, reducing land degradation and achieving climate change resilience.

In his address, Minister Seeruttun stated that the goal of his Ministry is to boost agricultural production and improve the national food security level while at the same time preserving natural resources, including forests for the provisioning, regulating and the services they provide. In this context, Government, he added, has explored several avenues to revamp the agricultural sector in Mauritius, such as support to encourage farmers to adopt sheltered farming, setting up Bee Reserves Zones across the island and introducing organic agriculture so as to increase food safety while at the same time protecting the environment.

Agroforestry, he stated, is definitely an avenue which not only the Government, but also the private sector and individual farmers can explore in order to innovate agriculture in Mauritius, increase the level of food security and seize markets of high value agricultural crops while at the same time protecting their lands. In this context, the first agroforestry pilot demonstration site of 1.12 hectares has been inaugurated two weeks ago at Petit Sable.

The Agro-Industry Minister outlined that the population will also benefit from healthier food since the use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides will be greatly reduced. The increase in tree cover will also contribute to the aesthetic of the environment and the agroforestry sites may eventually also appeal to the population as recreation sites, he added.