Farmer’s profile: Henry Pillay |23 March 2018

‘Farmers should be consulted more in the decision-making process’

As an only child and brought up by his single mother at Anse Louis, Henry Pillay reveals that his humble beginnings prompted him to begin helping himself and this is when his interest in farming activities began. 

During his primary and secondary school years, Henry enthusiastically participated in farming activities organised by the schools and thereafter he joined the then Seychelles Agricultural and Horticultural Training Centre (SAHTC) for two years to specialise in his chosen field.

Following completion of post-secondary, Henry was involved in masonry work for about five years to help fund some of his farming equipment. He also sourced other means of funding in an attempt to start his own business – something which he had always been keen on achieving. 

Today, at 25 years old, Henry has his own farm at Anse Louis, where he has the assistance of two workers. Although it has only been nine months since he registered his business, he is happy with the developments of the farm thus far and aims to help contribute towards the availability of organic produce in Seychelles. 

The farm

Henry and his two workers begin work on the farm around 8am every day and most mornings are spent gathering organic matter for making compost while afternoons are allocated for working in the nursery.

The main produce currently being grown on the farm includes thyme, parsley, saffron, local ginger, banana and papaya – the latter two being very much in demand by local businesses such as those that make jams.

Henry admits that to a lesser extent, he does make use of some chemical pesticides to control persistent pests on the farm, however he mainly uses organic farming techniques as he is concerned about the health of our locals and is a strong advocate for ensuring that our population has access to less artificial and more organic, healthy foods.

Henry is first and foremost interested in providing his customers with high quality produce and does not focus on the financial gains only.

Importance of fresh, local fruits and vegetables

According to Henry, many people think that imported produce is of better quality than our local foods. However, he reveals that he often speaks to elderly but strong people to ask about their lifestyles; one common factor was that they all ate a variety of local, organic produce such as cassava and sweet potato and also drank herbal infusions made of local plants.

While at work, Henry himself enjoys having some cassava for lunch followed by some freshly brewed citronella tea which he makes on site with a portable stove. He feels that these truly energise him despite the physically demanding nature of his job. He reminds us that junk food will satisfy us temporarily but fresh, local produce will help our energy and stamina levels in the long term.

Customer satisfaction

In addition to making certain that his customers are getting organic produce, Henry places great emphasis on the packaging of his herbs, fruits and vegetables to ensure their freshness and longevity. For example, dry parsley is best packaged in air-tight glass jars rather than in plastic bags as this prevents the parsley from being exposed to moisture.

When his customers are unable to get to him, Henry tries his best to deliver his produce to his customers. If the produce will not be available, he also gives early notice to his customers so as not to inconvenience them or their own businesses and to allow them time to make other arrangements.

Challenges in the agricultural industry

Aside from thieves stealing produce off the farm, it is in Henry’s opinion that some business men/women are being given strong competitive advantage in various industries in Seychelles, including agriculture and fisheries, and this is discouraging for small scale workers who have less financial advantage. To curb this problem, Henry feels that the government needs to consider the needs of all farmers and not just a few, for e.g. awarding tenders to different farmers.

He adds that relevant authorities in the agricultural industry should consult farmers more when making decisions for the country. Although these authorities do meet with farmers to give assistance, Henry feels that this is not enough. It is also his opinion that the requirements of the tourism industry are given priority compared to those of agriculture and fisheries and he stresses that priority should be given to what essentially benefits the local population first and foremost.  

Another challenge is the youth’s involvement and perception of the agricultural industry. Henry has observed that many young people do not want to join this field and a large number of them prefer to join the tourism industry. Those that do take up agriculture, are keen to reap the financial benefits before they put effort or make sacrifices in their work, they are not willing to learn the trade, leading them to partake in illegal activities that they feel will bring them quick, easy money.

Henry continues by saying that if this situation continues, it will drastically affect our country as more foreigners will have to come and work for us, bringing in their own traditions and social ills. To help eliminate this, he believes that the government needs to gain full control of the drug issue and create more opportunities for young people.

Motivation to persevere

The source of motivation for Henry in his daily farming work stems from his wish to help preserve our creole culture and prevent that of the western world from prevailing, as well as having plenty of healthy, nourishing food for our locals.

Advice to those in the industry

Henry’s message to all those working in the field of agriculture is to remember that if we all just sit back because things are working fine, we will end up being eliminated from all the processes involved as foreigners will be doing all the work; we know our country best and so it is us who can best achieve the objectives. He adds that every job inflicts pressure on people in some way or another so we all need to just be prepared to face these challenges.

The future

For the future, Henry hopes to extend his business and to create more competition for those that are importing produce into the country so that our local produce becomes more readily available. It is also his hope that the government will help support those who want to make this vision become a reality.