Madam Speaker, with your permission, I will reply to PQs B/194, B/201 and B/209 together as they relate to the same subject matter. But I will seek the indulgence of the House as the reply is quite lengthy. Madam Speaker, during the period 20…

Hon. Minister, I am sorry. Would it not be possible to communicate the reply?

You want me to circulate it?

Circulate it? No, you do not want. You want to question him? Alright! But we do not have much time!

I cannot, unfortunately, give an abridged version of my reply. Thank you very much. During the period 2014-2024, the priority of the then regime was land speculation. Consequently, there was massive encroachment upon fertile and prime agricultural land. Post COVID-19, food production in Mauritius should have been a national priority. Unfortunately, it was not. Our government is restoring food security as a central pillar of national policy. My Ministry has adopted a proactive and a resilient-driven strategy to protect the food supply of the country in the face of global uncertainties. Rs800 million has been allocated to the Ministry during the Financial Year 2025-2026 to support farmers, planters, breeders through various schemes and assistance programmes. These, amongst others, include sheltered farming, purchase of agricultural equipment, installation of CCTV camera, seed subsidies and reengineering of accompanying measures. The Ministry organised the Assises de l’Agriculture in January 2026. The report of the assises will feed into a food security programme for the year 2026-2029. Discussions during the assises focused on unlocking new resources, identification of new technologies as well as how to achieve diversification to reduce dependency on existing markets. Six strategic priorities were, accordingly, identified during the forum – (i) Food sovereignty and security; (ii) Agriculture/climate and environment nexus; (iii) Environment/plant/animal health; (iv) Value chain and youth engagement; (v) Technology and innovation, and (vi) Good governance and institutional coordination and policy coherence and financing. As soon as the war situation in Iran unfolded, Madam Speaker, I convened an emergency coordination meeting on 03 March 2026 with the relevant technical services and institutions of my Ministry. The utmost priority is for the achievement of quick wins and making sure our local produce is readily available for sale, given the numerous uncertainties. In this context, an action plan has already been prepared by the Ministry regarding immediate actions or low-hanging fruits, medium-term measures and longer strategies that will be considered in view of the conflict in the Middle East or Gulf countries. I, therefore, wish to reassure the House and the public at large that in the immediate future, there is no shortage of affordable vegetables and staple vegetables like onions, potatoes and garlic. There is full supply of fish, poultry meat and eggs from local farms. Moreover, increase in quantities of venison meat will be available on a yearly basis. The Agricultural Marketing Board has already secured additional seed potatoes from France and Netherlands, which are expected to arrive in May 2026, allowing planting to start by early July 2026. This initiative is expected to generate an additional 2,000 tonnes of potatoes over and above the estimated 13,000 tonnes normally produced annually. As at February 2026, the Barkly Experiment Station has a strategic stock of 2 tonnes of vegetable seeds of more than 20 different types of vegetables that can be used to plant over an area of around 2,300 arpents. These seeds are being sold to planters at a highly subsidised price. But we have to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. For example, the National Farmers Union of UK estimates that the world is about to see the biggest spike in food prices since Russian invasion of Ukraine due to the soaring costs of gas, diesel and fertiliser, and the disruption of shipping routes. Any crisis in the Middle East or Gulf countries sends shockwaves through the global economy. Today’s disruption to the gulf oil supply is already bigger than those of 1970’s. We have to brace ourselves as most oil crises lead to recession. Madam Speaker, my Ministry is actively focusing on the first two strategic priorities, that is, sovereignty, in order to boost local agriculture production along the agriculture/climate/environment nexus to address climate change. Hence, an emergency plan has been prepared by the Ministry to be implemented in the short-term. The plan focuses on import substitution policies and optimising production under the present challenges. These programmes include – • new land resources; • strategies to boost production of local staples such as potato, sweet potato, cassava, bean fruit; • a precision farming scheme which will allow entrepreneurs to access emerging technologies such AI-driven precision farming, use of sensors, drones and high- yielding seeds. May I remind the House that under the Labour-led government, low-glycemic rice was grown in Cluny and on sale in supermarkets. A Household Food Security Scheme will be launched to allow backyard farming. I will now elaborate on a number of concrete measures which are being implemented, namely – 1. Creation of an agricultural land bank at my Ministry and mobilisation of land by the State Investment Trust, Rose Belle Sugar Estate and Landscope Mauritius Ltd for the cultivation of potatoes and other strategic crops so as to increase the strategic buffer stocks of essential crops such as potatoes, onions, garlic from six weeks to nine weeks. 2. Provisions of grant provided by Food and Agricultural Research and Extension Institute, and Small Farmers Welfare Fund to help farmers to modernise the agricultural activities, improve both productivity and adopt locally manufactured fertilisers. 3. Distribution to farmers at highly subsidised prices of fast-growing crops such as beans, cowpeas, leafy vegetables, cabbage that can be harvested within two to three months. 4. Strengthening cold chain storage systems and agro-processing capacity for the transformation of key crops in order to reduce post-harvest loses from small farmers and extend the shelf life of agricultural produce. The Ministry is presently engaging with private sector operators such as CopeSud and Best Foods on this issue. 5. Diversification of import sources and procurement arrangement for potatoes, onions and garlic to reduce supply risk. 6. Monitoring of prices in consultation with the Ministry of Commerce and Consumer Protection and to ensure there is no abusive practices. 7. Reliable access to irrigation water and improve agricultural yields by developing irrigation schemes through this Irrigation Authority and encouraging farmers to exploit boreholes in the fields. 8. Improving the ease of doing agri-business through small planters through one stop shop strategy. The Small Farmers Welfare Fund will act as a facilitator. Madam Speaker, food security also concerns the availability of meat and livestock products. In this regard the Division of Veterinary Services of my Ministry has initiated the diversification of import sources for livestock. The Division has explored the possibility of importing parent poultry stock from Kenya and Zambia.

Hon. Minister, may I? We already…time is…

If time is up, I would have circulated. My friend insisted that I should...

How long more do you have?

Well, if time is up, time is up, okay. I would circulate.

Yes, thank you. We won’t be able to have a supplementary. Time is up! More than a few minutes anyway. So, time is up now. Thank you very much, hon. Minister, sorry.

That’s alright. I am used to that now.

It was a very important question. I now have to announce, hon. Members, I have a series of questions that have been withdrawn, of course. So, now I will list them: B/195, B/196, B/197, B/202, B/204, B/205, B/206, B/207, B/208, B/210, B /211, B/212, B/214, B/215, B/216, B/217, B/219, B/220, B/222, B/223, B/225, B/228 and B/229. Thank you very much. Hon. Members, I want to tell you that if I close my eyes, it’s because of the lights. The Broadcasting lights which you don’t get but I get. I will try and get special glasses.