The damage caused by cyclone Emnati is not as bad as cyclone Batsrai but small farmers are suffering and so is the consumer. Prices are soaring in the shops while the quality of the vegetables is poor. Agro-Industry Minister, Maneesh Gobin has announced that the disbursement of financial assistance to farmers affected by Cyclone Batsirai is expected to start on next Monday. The 13 Agricultural Marketing Board points open their doors to the public.
Planters to receive compensation next week
Since the beginning of 2022, vegetable prices have risen considerably with two main reasons being religious festivals, occasional bad weather and cyclones. After Batsrai, the small farmers were on the ground. As soon as they were in a ‘seedling’ state, they were brought down again by Emnati. The Ministry of Agro-Industry, in collaboration with the Small Farmers Welfare Fund (SFWF) and the Food and Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (FAREI), set up a loss reporting exercise to assess the losses of the farmers. As the Minister stated during a press briefing on Monday 21st February while visiting the AMB’s head office in Moka: “The farmers can do it at the SFWF, FAREI and Online offices.” Just as they did after Cyclone Batsirai, which “the payment of financial aid, as announced by the government, should begin next week,” he said. It should be highlighted that after the passage of Batsirai, the officers of this ministry had criss-crossed the declared fields to make a visual observation in line with the evaluation for financial aid. They will do the same after the post-Emnati declaration registrations, which is already scheduled to begin this coming weekend.
Fresh items and outlets
Attorney General, Maneesh Gobin was at the AMB to take stock of the vegetables available for one month. The stock includes imported and local potatoes, onions, garlic, beans, cabbage and carrots. He took the opportunity to show the press the quality of AMB’s vegetables and to tackle his detractors who accused AMB of putting fresh vegetables on the market, but not too fresh!
These vegetables are considered to be the ‘strategic products’, which this time, the AMB has taken the lead in importing before a possible shortage. Thus, potatoes, onions and garlic will be sold at the fixed prices already practiced. However, these new imported products will benefit from a large subsidy from the government, without which “these same vegetables would have been sold at 4 or 5 times the price that the ministry has fixed“, attested Maneesh Gobin. Beans will be priced at Rs 60 per half kilo, cabbage at Rs 25 per half kilo and carrots at Rs 30 per half kilo, while the imported consignment will be put on sale after the previous stock is exhausted. The AMB sales points are in Moka, Triolet Rivière des Anguilles, Quartier Militaire, Vallée des Prêtres, Montagne Blanche, Quatre Bornes, Curepipe, Rose Belle, Chemin Grenier, Beau Champs, Rivière du Rempart and Goodlands. In addition, the Minister wished to remind consumers of the importance in their daily lives of the good conservation of fresh products but also the agro-processing of products for long conservation.
The supply of coconuts was also one of his topics. The Minister said that “there will be no shortage because they are imported from Rodrigues, the outer islands and India“. He was referring to its great demand during the Maha Shivratree festive period. He also said that a stock of coconuts, ordered for the past Cavadee festival, was still available and in good consuming condition.
