Denis Island Farm How self-sustenance contributes to local, fresh and organic produce |07 July 2018

Diet-related illnesses across the world, including Seychelles, have meant that the search for local, fresh and organic produce in the form of fruits, vegetables, and meat is intensifying. Locally, concerns about the imported and cheaper, yet non-organic chicken are rising, especially with regard to their adverse effects on our health.

It is in this light that the management of Denis Island farm produces a range of farm-fresh, organic chicken, duck & quail eggs, as well as whole chicken, duck, pork and beef.

Owners of Denis Island, Kathleen and Mickey Mason, share details about the island’s organic farm, and how it is sustainably contributing towards health and food security in Seychelles.

Q: For what reason was the farm set up on the island?

A: We started the farm as a matter of necessity. The planes serving the islands are the Twin Otters, catering principally to our hotel clientele, and their luggage leaving very little space for food imports. Out of necessity, the idea of producing as much food as possible on the island was born.

We set up structures for hydroponics farming and conventional farming of vegetables. At the same time, we extended the existing pig and cattle farms. The banana plantation was extended and a fruit orchard set up; within a few years we were able to supply 60% of the food required for the hotel and the staff canteen. Today Denis Island is able to supply quite a lot of products to Carana Hotel.

Q: What processes are involved in the organic production of meat?

A: Locally produced meat is more expensive compared to imported meat as we have to import most of the feed, especially for chicken. The feed is made up of corn, soya (not produced in Seychelles) and fishmeal, plus minerals and vitamins.

The bulk of the pigs’ diet is obtained from the island which includes unfinished food from the hotel, cooked with yams, breadfruit, spinach and any vegetables of poor quality. A little imported feed is mixed in to help boost the quality of the prepared feed.

The cattle is fed on chipped coconut leaves mixed with imported molasses. They are also allowed to free range in controlled paddocks to graze. Depending on the size of the animal, a small amount of imported feed is added to their diet to compensate for the minerals that are deficient in the coral soil.

The meat produced on Denis Island is free of antibiotics and growth enhancers which makes it safe and tasty. Eating imported Brazilian chicken is like eating cotton wool, they look huge but when cooked, they shrink to half the size because they have been pumped up with so much saline.  

Locally produced pork is so tasty. Seychelles used to be self-sufficient in pork production until the Bois de Rose feed factory went bankrupt a few years ago.

There are two ways of producing organic chicken. One way is that the chickens are kept enclosed and the floor is deep litter, normally wood shavings. The birds are fed imported feed with the addition of grass, spinach and moringa leaves; the latter is especially good as it is full of calcium and iron. The yolk from these eggs are a deep orange colour.

The other way is to have them on free range if you have the space; here they are fed imported feed but they also scratch for insects/worms and eat grass. Most of the farmers here have a system of deep litter to produce broilers; this is a good system and the meat is superior to imported chicken.

Q: How does the self-sustenance of the island contribute towards health and food security?

A: Growing your own food, you become aware that this food must be safe from hazardous pesticides and antibiotics. We seldom use pesticides, but on rare occasions when we’ve had no choice, we’ve used a safe one such as a pyrethrum-based insecticide.

Today, we are a lot wiser to the dangers of the over-use of antibiotics, so we do not apply any to animals reared for human consumption.

By growing our own food, the island is assured of a regular supply. Seychelles does not have large expanses of land for large scale farming, however, animals such as chicken, ducks, and pigs can be reared indoors, and by using the right guidelines, can provide sufficient organic meat to feed the population and hotels.

Q: How can Seychelles increase production of organic foods, especially livestock?

A: Seychelles can produce all the chicken that the country requires with a little help from government. We think that a subsidy should be imposed on all imported chicken. Low-interest loans should be made available to farmers, to allow them to reinvest and modernise their farms. Importation of chicken and pork is foreign exchange flying out of the country which should be stopped as soon as the country becomes self-sufficient again.

Photo sources: Mickey Mason