the Mauritius Cane Industry Authority, he will, for the benefit of the House, obtain therefrom, information…
(No. B/323) Mr P. Venkatasami (The Third Member for Quartier Militaire & Moka) asked the Minister of Agro-Industry, Food Security, Blue Economy and Fisheries whether, in regard to the Mauritius Cane Industry Authority, he will, for the benefit of the House, obtain therefrom, information as to – (a) the number of agricultural machines and equipment available thereat, indicating the – (i) number currently being used for the ploughing of lands of small planters prior to embarking in new plantation, and (ii) the lead time for the execution of tasks after payment effected therefor, and (b) whether there has been any order for the procurement of new machines and, if so, indicate the – (i) number procured, and (ii) expected delivery date thereof.
I thank the hon. Member for putting this question. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, as regards part (a) of the question, I have been informed by the Mauritius Cane Industry Authority that presently there are 35 operational agricultural machines and equipment available at the Agricultural Mechanisation Unit where 25 tractors are used for land preparation, five bell loaders are used for building and one roller is used for compaction. One hydraulic excavator is due for excavation and splitting of rocks and boulders, and one hydraulic excavator coupled with a cane cutter is used for cane harvesting. There are 27
87 machines that are not operational and have largely exceeded their lifetime. They cannot be repaired due to the high maintenance costs. They also represent safety hazards to users. These has been earmarked to be sold as crafts or to be used as spare parts for existing machines. With regard part (a)(i) of the question, the number of machines currently being used for ploughing of land of small planters is 27, out of which 22 are crawler tractors and five pneumatic tractors. Regarding part (a)(ii) of the question, the waiting time depends on the request of the planters together with payment and singing of the contracts, and also depends on the month of the year when the planter undertakes the harvest. The land preparation is performed after the planter has harvested his field. The allocation of bulldozers is made according to well-defined plan, normally according to regional grouping while maintaining a first come, first served basis. Notwithstanding the capacity of work that the unit can take, many planters obtain the machine on time. In certain cases, due to breakdown of machines, heavy workloads or adverse climatic conditions, works are delayed and performed at a later stage. However, there are cases where planters are reluctant to abide to the planning and complain when they do not obtain the required services immediately after having submitted their requests. As regard part (b) of the question, I have been informed by the Mauritius Cane Industry Authority that two contracts were awarded last year for three D6 type crawler tractors and two agricultural pneumatic tractors with accessories. One crawler tractor has been delivered to the MCIA last week, and the remaining equipment will be delivered in May this year after completion of all administrative procedures and commissioning.
Okay. Just one question because time is already over.
Could the Minister say, how some planters who have already paid since January but till now they have not yet…
I’m sorry?
Some planters already paid for land preparation since January but till now, no work has been done.
But I can assure the hon. Member that the matter will be looked into, addressed very forcefully so that we can give satisfaction to one and all.
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Hon. Members, the Table have been advised that the following PQs have been withdrawn: B/324, B/325, B/330, B/332, B/333, B/337, B/351 and B/352. Time is over.