Food Week celebrations set to encourage contribution from everyone towards our food security together, we can make a difference to food and nutrition security in Seychelles |17 August 2018
From October 15 to 21 this year, several activities are to take place to mark Food Week, an annual event held locally to create awareness about food and which is spearheaded by World Food Day celebrations on October 16 - an observance initiated by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations (UN).
Talking to the Seychelles NATION about the upcoming event, principal secretary (PS) in the Department of Agriculture, Antoine-Marie Moustache, says that the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture (MoFA) extends World Food Day celebrations over the course of one week in an effort to increase the number of stakeholders interacting with each other during this time.
This year’s theme for World Food Day is ‘Our Actions are our Future’ and according to PS Moustache, it is one which makes us reflect on the current efforts within the domain of agriculture, fisheries and forestry which will shape the future of our food industry in various aspects.
This will include future amounts of food output, their sources, health and safety, resources, income for workers, livelihoods, contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment, investment, planning and sustainability.
“With this theme, we want to show people that together, we can make a difference to food and nutrition security in Seychelles if we put a bit of time and resources aside. We want to create the awareness that producing food is not only the responsibility of our fishermen and farmers; we can have a contribution from everybody,” says PS Moustache.
It is for this reason that Food Week activities will involve members of the public who are growing local produce in their home backyards, to show the rest of the population the possibilities that exist even with a small amount of land.
PS Moustache notes that we do not necessarily need to produce everything that we consume in our backyards, as long as we are able to meet the requirements to produce a few crops, to enjoy the harvesting period, to consume something we grew ourselves, and to help reduce our spending.
Activity schedule for Food Week in October
Monday 15th to Sunday 21st
- Radio quiz around the topic of agriculture and fisheries
Tuesday 16th
- Donation of local fruits and vegetables to the oncology unit
- Message from the MoFA minister in print media, television and radio
- Message from the director general of FAO relayed in Seychelles
- Discussion on television about imported versus local produce
Wednesday 17th
- Donation of relevant materials to the Perseverance secondary school garden to promote use of bio products
Thursday 18th
- Television and radio documentaries about World Food Day 2018, in the context of Seychelles
- Workshop with owners of home gardens
- Post-harvest awareness programme with school tuck shop operators at Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA)
Friday 19th
- Workshop with owners of home gardens
- Open day at Seychelles Maritime Academy (SMA) on Thursday or Friday
- SFA to teach school children on how best to prepare finger bites using fish that are not commonly consumed in Seychelles on Thursday or Friday
Saturday 20th
- ‘Lafwar Agrikol’ (Agricultural fair) on Praslin
Sunday 21st
- ‘LafwarAgrikol’ on Mahe
Speaking about the scheduled activities for the week, PS Moustache comments that each one is a reflection of the theme ‘Our Actions are our Future’ as they aim to create greater awareness and better understanding of food nutrition and security.
The activities will also create more enthusiasm among people, including the youth, to do some home gardening or to consider joining the sector. In turn, this unleashes a whole set of possibilities, including an increase in the country’s food output.
For instance, ‘Lafwar Agrikol’ is an opportunity to stimulate and entice food producers to participate by selling their produce, which in turn helps them to generate extra resources and to re-invest in their businesses for the future.
Also important is the donation of local fruits and vegetables to the oncology unit which will serve to bring fresh produce to the many people who are very much in need of such items to assist in their convalescence period, and to bring them good nutrients that will contribute positively to their health in the future.
PS Moustache reflects that however you take the activities, there will be positive implications for those who engage in such actions.