Minister Sinon satisfied with agricultural development in west Mahe |06 September 2014
Barbarons and Grand Anne are well-known agricultural zones of Seychelles and through a visit there, Natural Resources Minister Peter Sinon has kept himself abreast of latest developments and issues farmers are encountering.
At the end of yesterday’s visit, Minister Sinon expressed satisfaction that there are still many properties in the west Mahe region that are dedicated to agriculture.
The minister was talking to the press after visiting farmers Gonzague Morin at Anse à la Mouche; Flavien and Dominique Francourt at Anse Boileau; Alain Samson, Pierre Servina, Robert Melanie and Jean Paul Paul Geoffroy at Barbarons.
Minister Sinon also visited the Grand Anse Plant Diagnostic Laboratory, Alfons Haffner butchery which produces smoked processed meat products like sausages and bacon and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Indian Ocean relay station at Grand Anse. The station will close down completely in October.
He expressed his appreciation about the good job being done by of the Grand Anse laboratory and the training it is providing one year since it started operation.
The Grand Anse Mahe meteorological station is located in a small room in the lab and this came about after the Meteorological Office expressed satisfaction of the services the lab offers.
The minister was accompanied on his visit by Seychelles Agricultural Agency (SAA) chief executive Marc Naiken and other high officials of his ministry and the agency.
Minister Sinon was also disappointed with some farm owners in the area of the Barbarons hotel and said they need to make extra effort for their properties be more productive.
As for smaller farmers who are really working hard and whose work was very much appreciated by the minister and his delegation, he said there is a need to provide them with technical help especially in the field of infrastructure like roads and water availability.
When he spoke about his visit to Alfons Haffner’s meat processing butchery – Haffner’s Products – Minister Sinon said the place could be another outlet for livestock farmers to sell their products to.
Mr Haffner is a German national who came to Seychelles in 1979 and the idea of setting up such a project germinated in 1988. He has been to many other countries including Tanzania but decided to make Seychelles his home.
Mr Haffner is still bringing in equipment for his small factory which is not yet fully operational.
The minster described such an outlet for livestock farmers as very good and added that another abattoir will be built in Grand Anse Mahe to alleviate the many problems farmers are encountering at the one at Brillant.
Gonzague Morin’s farm at Anse à la Mouche is doing quite well and the owner has also set up a small selling outlet at the entrance where people can buy their vegetables. It is a livestock and crop farm with goats, ducks, a variety of vegetables, and yellow coconuts which the owner refers to as ‘water coconut’. Mr Morin said there is a big market in the tourism sector for such a product.
He also does a lot of net farming, uses sugar cane barks for compost and his 550 goats are a cross-breed between Boer from Australia and local ones.
Flavien and Dominique Francourt concentrate on livestock breeding especially chicken and pigs but also grow bananas. They say they are encountering water problem which stops them from producing as much as they would have liked to.
Alain Samson is a full-time farmer and would prefer to have a bigger land parcel to work on. He has been doing farming for more than 19 years and is also experiencing water problem.
Pierre Servina produces fruits but was advised by Minister Sinon to also venture into root crops to be more productive as there is a lot of space on his farm.
Robert Melanie is a fruit and root crop farmer. Minister Sinon noted that if he is given more innovative ideas which will ease production, his farm will be more productive.
The following are some of the photos taken during the minister’s visit yesterday.
