Minister calls for revival of local agricultural sector |16 October 2013
“In respecting and saluting the die-hard farmers that have braved probably the most challenging times that the sector has ever experienced, my message is one of gratitude and I call on all producers and consumers to join forces to revive the local agricultural sector.”
This comes in a message by the Minister for Natural Resources Peter Sinon on the occasion of World Food Day being celebrated today.
The full text of Minister Sinon’s message reads:
“We celebrate this year’s World Food Day by addressing the theme ‘Sustainable food systems for food security and nutrition: Healthy people depend on healthy food systems’. The Cabinet recently approved the ‘Seychelles National Food & Nutrition Security Policy’ document which articulates and makes the link between our food systems and our health.
“The theme chosen by the FAO this year highlights a changing momentum. It links the quality of the food we consume with the state of our health. However, this emerging trend has to contend with consolidated mind-sets and habits that will not be easy to change.
“In the era of liberalisation during a time of difficult financial and economic circumstances, low food prices have taken the front seat in consumers’ considerations. Other considerations, such as the quality and content of these low priced processed foods as well as their impact on our health, have taken a back seat. Extensive and concrete evidence is available to make us all see malnutrition through other sets of lenses. The malnourished are no longer just those starving as a result of very limited or no access to a food supply. In this day, malnourishment will firmly include those who overeat to obesity and others who consistently consume non-nutritious foods.
“Both governments and large corporations, who dominate our present food systems and who are responsible for setting related food policy, are currently being challenged by the issues that stem from the chosen theme. However present habits have become entrenched and, as a result, create formidable barriers to change. The barriers include:
1. The mismatch between consumer aspirations (a belief in a culture of excessive choice) and the impacts of consumer behaviour;
2. The difficulty for supply chains to admit that prices might need to rise to cover full social, environmental and health costs in a world that has and continues to persist to define progress as ever lower costs;
3. The rigidity of silo institutions set up to address single issues in relative isolation when what is required are institutions with greater flexibility delivering on cross-cutting agendas;
4. The strong belief that food systems adapt with supply and demand and that the invisible hands of the market are the only and most effective mechanism for delivering effective and commendable changes;
5. The rationales of the aforementioned all encourage a business-as-usual approach while the growing evidence of the emerging fundamentals require more subtle and innovative and cross-cutting policy realignment.
“Appreciable progress has been made world-wide to reduce the number of hungry people. However, approximately 1 billion people in the world are still unable to fill their stomachs each day. One out of every four children under the age of five loses their lives due to chronic malnutrition. World population will increase from the current 6.8 billion to 9.2 billion by 2050. The demand for food will at least double within the next 25 to 40 years. The increasing demand of food will primarily affect developing countries and can lead to severe consequences if drastic action is not taken.
“On the other hand, approximately 1.4 billion people are overweight and of those, one third are obese. Such behaviour has become a form of malnutrition and has given rise to increased cardiovascular related illnesses, among many other diseases, with costly and even terminal consequences.
With such statistics, this year’s theme is clearly calling for an urgent need for all stakeholders to make significant changes in attitudes and take action with respect to agriculture and diet.
“As a small nation, isolated from many major markets, with limited land, water, labour, technology, economies of scale and related resources, we can hardly ever claim that we are the masters of our ‘food systems’. The days when the Seychellois islander depended almost 100% on what the islands and the ocean provided for food are over. Open markets, trade and increasing abilities to conserve and preserve, as well as more regular air and sea transport services have ushered in a new era. Imports have become a major part of our food system.
“At home efforts are being exerted to revive local food production. The ‘Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme’ (CAADP) and its commitments to substantially increasing budgetary resources to the food producing sectors and bring about a 6% growth in food productivity remains a formidable challenge. In the pursuit of this endeavour my ministry has been conscious that it is essential to not only increase the quantity of the food produced, but also the quality required to maintain a nutritious and healthy diet. The need to reverse or at least slow down the galloping trend of our increasing dependency on imported foods cannot be overstated.
“Investment resources (3 million USD) as provided for by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) project will be the first significant investment in the sector for a very long time. The investment represents a concrete start to the revival process positively affecting selected communal infrastructure which includes water capture and distribution, capacity building and marketing of local produce. A line of credit for producers is also envisaged.
“Feasibility studies and detailed designs where required will result in a bankable Integrated Agricultural and Fisheries project will be the result of a 1 million USD grant from the African Development Bank (AfDB). This will be a comprehensive project that will complement the IFAD project and take cognizance of the identified pillars of the National Food and Nutrition Policy.
Construction, equipping and furnishing of a state of the art Soil and Plant Diagnostic laboratory in partnership with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Comesa will boost productivity and usher in the application of more advanced science and technology in the sector. Partnership with the Commonwealth of Learning will revolutionise communication between the farmers and their respective extension officers. A special programme to introduce the use of SMS and voice messaging in partnership with Air-Tel are investments that will introduce IT in agriculture and improve communication between technicians and the farmers.
“The formulation of the Seychelles National Agricultural Investment Plan (SNAIP) is currently an ongoing exercise.
Taking its cue from the National Food and Nutrition Policy (NFNP) the Plan is another vehicle to raise financing for a broader range of key activities that are essential for the revival of the sector. Institutional and capacity building as well as open doors of the regional economic communities such as Comesa and SADC as well as the Nepad/AU initiatives for agricultural development cannot be overstated. With such developments in the sector, the private sector is also showing encouraging interest to re-invest in the sector that has hitherto been experiencing a cascading number of years of divestment.
“The challenge at this juncture is not only to revive the sector but also to change gear and respond to emerging demands. As a five-star destination, the pressure for a five-star healthy and fresh gastronomy is evident. It is a new window of opportunity that we should capitalise upon. The ongoing ‘Hook and Line’ initiative that allows consumers to trace the source of the fish on their plates caught by our local fishers, to the area, boat and fishers that caught it is the kind of such futuristic initiative that meets the emerging concerns and is going in the right direction. The recently reviewed and completed Fisheries Act will further ensure sustainability while in agriculture we have to start from scratch to really market and develop the value-chain for our local healthy and organic products.
“In this light Seychelles stands in good stead as we dedicate our efforts to assist farmers to identify the ‘niches’ where they have or can generate comparative and competitive advantages. With the promotion of sustainable practices both farmers and fishers stand to survive many more years to produce fresh, safe and healthy foods for the locals and tourists alike. In respecting and saluting the die-hard farmers that have braved probably the most challenging times that the sector has ever experienced, my message is one of gratitude and I call on all producers and consumers to join forces to revive the local agricultural sector.
“We have experienced the effects of open and liberal markets, the inhibitions of sea transport due to piracy and the embargoes on rice which is our staple during the world food price escalation periods. Air transportation has also been suspended due to the unforeseen Iceland volcano ashes.
All point to the fact that as an isolated and remote islands state, local sustainable and nutritive food is our best strategy to attain a semblance of food security.
“In this dynamic and changing global arena, I urge our farmers and fishers to persevere.
On behalf of my ministry and its technical staff, I reiterate our commitment to join forces to increase national productivity. We are in this together, we have come a long way together and we will succeed in producing a greater proportion of our nutritious, healthy, foods using sustainable methods, which will ensure greater ‘food sovereignty and security’ in the process.
“I wish all a Happy World Food week.”