Minister visits Anse Boileau farmers |12 March 2018

Farmers cultivating crops and raising livestock in Hermitage, Anse Boileau received a visit from the Minister for Fisheries and Agriculture Pamela Charlette on Friday.

The minister was accompanied by the newly appointed chief executive (CEO) of the Seychelles Agricultural Agency (SAA) Linetta Estico and extension service staff from SAA.

The farmers visited were James Souris, Kenny Jouanneau, Jonathan Monthy, Greg and Betty Lawen, Amedee Rose, Josephina, Allain and Joachim Duprès and Paul Ernest.

Minister Charlette toured the premises of the farmers and interacted with them.

Mr Souris said getting labour force to help out is rather difficult but he is managing as best as he can.

“It is the first minister to ever come at my farm for the past 6 years I’ve been here. I’m almost 65 and it’s very tiring, soon I will be handing over the land,” he said.

Mr Rose expressed the challenges faced by famers in the region as they have a water problem especially in the hilly areas.

“We also lack access to commodities such as fertiliser and animal feed as the price has increased and we struggle with marketing as small scale farmers because the big farmers have more advantage as they plant on a larger scale and have a bigger outlet for their produce,” he said.

He said the importation of fruits, vegetables and meat should be reduced to a level that allows the small farmers to sell their produce and also encourage more farmers to keep cultivating.

Mr Monthy, who focuses on livestock, said there used to be difficulties in regards to access of animal feed.

“During droughts we obviously have water shortages, we don’t have a proper scale to weigh the produce and we have a hard time selling our produce and products,” he said.

He said the minister has promised to look into the matter and come up with a solution.

Ms Estico said the visit went well as the farmers got to interact with the minister and her delegation.

“In Hermitage we have a number of livestock farmers especially pig breeders and we also have those focusing on fruits and crops,” she said.

She said many farmers bring in expatriates to work on their farms to deal with the labour force problem but SAA encourages them to employ Seychellois workers especially agricultural students for work attachment.

“Our mandate is to increase local produce and so these visits help strengthen our relationship with the producers while also learning about their challenges,” she said.

Ms Estico said the ministry is focusing on livestock this year as it is working on a livestock policy so as to create a better business environment for the farmers.

“We are also seeking financial assistance to help farmers get credit lines and loans so that they can take better care of their farms,” she said.

The accompanying photos show the minister and her delegation visiting some of the farms.