Introduction

The publication of the preliminary results of the Census of Agriculture 2024 by Statistics Mauritius is timely. It contains a mine of information for “better and informed decision-making”. If the government is serious about developing “a well thought-out long term plan” as announced in the President’s Address the findings will serve as valuable inputs to formulate a strategy and action plan for agricultural diversification. As the Minister of Agro-Industry, Food Security, Blue Economy and Fisheries has repeatedly said we have to consume what we produce. It makes sense at a time when imports keep on spiraling while our exports remain stagnant. However, the stark reality is that our land utilization indicates that we do not produce enough locally for our domestic consumption as the Census reveals while our consumption needs keep increasing with a rise in income.

The findings

We highlight some of the major findings of the Census.

More than 99% of producers involved in agricultural production other than sugar and tea are households, a figure that has remained almost unchanged between the two Census years, 2014 and 2024. In the latter year, there were 19,246 producers; household producers numbered 19,102 while non-households were 144 as Table 1 indicates. The number of non-households increased by 60% between these two years while households inched by a mere 4.6%.

The total area of agricultural holdings amounted to 62,880 hectares, a fall of 3% over 2014 figure. Among the land occupied, 83% were used by businesses and institutions in the non-household sector whereas the share of household farms was only 17%. With a decline in total agricultural holdings the only way to increase production lies in boosting productivity.

It is worth mentioning that 58.4% of household producers have an agricultural holding of less than one acre with only 5.7% having plots more than 5 acres. 47.2% of non-household producers have a size of holding exceeding 5 acres. The average area per holding in the household sector was 0.6 hectares compared t o 361 hectares for non-household sector. There is thus a predominance of small plots among household producers compared to their non-household counterparts.

In terms of ownership, 88% of non-household producers own the farm land while more than 50% of household farmers have plots either rented or on lease. It is not surprising that the latter are engaged mostly in temporar y crops. The concentration of holding of such magnitude is an indication of high degree of inequality of income within the farming community. Many households are operating at almost subsistence level and earn limited income.

While production of crops provides the means of livelihood for many households, the size of holdings for the household sector is too small to facilitate mechanization and enhancement of productivity and by extension higher incomes. As a result, they do not earn enough to generate a surplus that can be ploughed back in terms of investment for mechanization and the adoption of new methods of production.

Larger farms on their part are better placed to increase their investment, to avail of services of professionals, conduct research, innovate and introduce new products with long term production cycles which may easily run into three to five years. A good example which was highlighted recently is the huge investment being made by Agria of the ER Group which will contribute positively to our agricultural diversification and our economic growth. They also benefit from economies of scale.

Households cannot afford to increase investment and conduct research as the larger farms but they do play a vital role in the provision of various food crops to the population. There is an urgent need to boost their productivity so that they can generate higher income and profitability. They do benefit from the services of various government institutions, a role that needs to be further reinforced in future. In this respect, they face a number of constraints that should be addressed if we want to optimize their contribution. In spite of numerous measures taken to promote agricultural diversification budget after budget, they do not seem to have been really effective. Either our policies have been sterile or we are accustomed to paying lip service to the industry. For instance, in spite of support for hydroponic cultivation, the area under such practice is a mere 2.3%.

The census identifies a series of constraints faced by the sectors. For the household sector, natural disasters/climate change and thefts are the top constraints, followed by pests/ diseases, high price of fertilizers and pesticides and unavailability of labour. In the non-household sector, high price of labour and the unavailability of labour are top of the list followed by climate change/natural disasters, thefts and pests and diseases. It is noteworthy that unavailability of labour and the high price of labour have emerged as major constraints compared to 2014.

Declining livestock

The statistics on livestock do not bode well for our diversification efforts Table 2 shows. For example, the number of cattle has decreased from 14,000 in 2014 to 5,000 in 2024, a decline of almost two thirds. If this trend continues and nothing is done at the policy level, the entire industry will be wiped out in the next decade. We can say good bye to consuming local products while the import bill will continue to soar unabated. Likewise, the number of goat heads has also declined although by only one third. Only sheep and pigs production depict an upward trend. Livestock production represents 23% of value-added in agriculture, a share which remains static thanks to the rapid expansion of poultry which makes up fro the decline in cattle production. It goes without saying that the decline in number of heads of cattle impinges adversely on the growth of agriculture and GDP. No agricultural drive will be successful without dynamising the livestock sector which will help to substantially reduce our import bill.

It is not surprising that import of meat and meat preparations has increased from 16,000 tonnes to 21,000 tonnes or by 31.5% between 2014 and 2024. The value of imports has jumped by 120% from Rs products.

Even the production of honey has declined by 6.6%. Consequently, we find supermarkets flooded with imported honey. By way of comparison, it is worth mentioning that honey production in Rodrigues had increased by 10.5% during this period, thus surpassing us in honey production. Instead of moving forward, we are in reverse gear. The only silver lining among the clouds is the production of poultry which has jumped by over 50% in ten years thereby catering for the increased demand by the population.

The average monthly expenditure on these products given in Table 3 has increased between 2012 and 2024, the highest increase being for fresh chicken which recorded an increase of 94%. This is partly due to higher demand and higher prices. The increase in expenditure should be useful for both consumption and production planning. If we look at dairy products which are linked to the livestock industry, our imports are higher than Rs 6B in 2024, an increase of 65% over 2014 figure.

The decline in production of livestock comes at a time when per capita consumption is on the rise which means that imports have to increase to make up for the shortfall in local production. For example, per capita consumption of cattle meat has risen by 11% while for chicken it rose by 25% between 2014 and 2023 as shown in Table 4.

Conclusion

The preliminary results are revealing. The publication of the final report will no doubt shed more light on this important subject. It is hoped that it gives, besides area under cultivation, figures on production in household and non-household sectors which will help calculation of productivity and pave the way for targeted policies. Statistics on the regional distribution of farmers and of agricultural production will also be useful. Agricultural diversification is a national priority to ensure food security in a very uncertain and volatile world. The Census results should be the subject of wide discussions and consultations with key stakeholders with a view to adopting appropriate policies, eliminating constraints and providing the right incentives so that we can produce more and consume domestic products.