Praslin, La Digue farmers suffer losses due to lack of market for excess vegetables |16 September 2016

Farmers on Praslin and La Digue have in recent weeks been suffering heavy losses financially because they cannot find enough market for their vegetables.

With a population of some 130 registered farmers on Praslin and around a dozen or more on La Digue all making the most of the conducive weather, the already small market on the two islands has long been saturated.

At this time of the year, during the south east monsoon season, the weather is ideal for growing vegetables like capsicum, Chinese cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, chillies, eggplant, and pumpkins among others.

Some farmers have contacts and can sell some of their produce to hotels, shops and other food caterers but there is just a limit that can be accepted. For most of the farmers they sell their produce in the community but with the excessive glut the market is saturated and in recent weeks farmers are seeing the fruits of weeks of their hard labour ending up as animal feed.

Jimmy Serret, a farmer at Amitie who has been farming for some 27 years, says every year at this time there is an excess of vegetables on the market but this year is the worse he can recall.

“This year the problem is worse because it has been a good season for producers and the small market has quickly been flooded. With more and more people doing their own backyard gardening ironically this has not been to our benefit,” Mr Serret says.

Andrew Charles, another farmer at Amitie, is of the same view.

Jose Guerreiro, recently appointed senior extension officer for the two islands, says some of the farmers are really desperate and are doing their best to sell their produce, even sending to friends and family members on Mahé. Mr Guerreiro notes that it is a habit for all farmers to grow the same types of vegetable without any of them taking into account the size of their market and its demand.

While farmers on Mahé are also facing the same dilemma, they can survive with a bigger market even though the prices have gone down considerably, Mr Guerreiro remarks.

Another problem which farmers on Praslin are facing is the lack of a centralised market place to sell their produce.

“The market at Baie Ste Anne is closed down and the one at Grand Anse is not operating as expected and farmers as well as other producers want a new market in the centre of Baie Ste Anne,” Mr Guerreiro says.

He adds that for the past few weeks he has been going around listening to the concerns and grievances of the farmers which he will bring to the attention of the authorities concerned.

He points out that in order to help the farmers the Seychelles Agricultural Agency (SAA) through its office at Amitie is advising farmers and helping them to put in place a development plan which will allow the extension officer to carry out follow up visits and better guide them.

There is also a need to push the idea for a centralised marketplace, to establish more and stronger sale contracts with hotels and other establishments and to better educate consumers on the importance and benefits of eating locally produced vegetables.