In his address, the Minister pointed out that the setting up of the bio fertilizer plant is line with the Maurice Ile Durable concept which aims at promoting sustainable development and  greening Mauritius through the use of bio-agricultural inputs, he said. 

Mr Seetaram recalled that excessive and inappropriate use of agrochemicals result in negative and sometimes irreparable effects on the environment and human health. He underscored the need for necessary action to protect the planet while ensuring sustainable agricultural development and good agricultural practices. According to the Minister, there is a real need to encourage the farming community and other stakeholders to build a new agricultural model that would be eco-friendly, people-centered and knowledge-based.

For his part, the chairperson of IFFCO, Mr N.P Patel, recalled the decade-long association between his organisation and the MCAF. According to him, bio fertilizers have many advantages such as reduction of the cost of cultivation, increase in crop yield by 20-30%, improvement in soil properties, and are eco-friendly and provide protection against droughts.  Soil samples from different agricultural sites in Mauritius during a feasibility study showed that there is an urgent need for bio fertilizers to be used in Mauritius, Mr Patel further said.

About MCAF and IFFCO

The MCAF, set up in August 1950, is a cluster of 150 cooperative credit societies with a total membership of around 14 000 sugarcane planters. Its objectives are to defend and promote the interests of its affiliates and improve the bargaining power of small planters in getting better deals for their products, more advantageous conditions to meet their day to day requirements and negotiate for subsidies on inputs, amongst others. Through its network of 13 fertilizer retail outlets, the MCAF assists the farming community by supplying fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, seeds and sprayers.

Set up in November 1967, IFFCO is one of the largest fertilizer cooperative enterprises in Asia. It provides quality fertilizers and agricultural services to the Indian farming community.  From a modest membership of 57 societies in 1967, it has grown in strength now accounting for about 40 000 societies. IFFCO has five state-of-the-art fertilizer manufacturing units at five different locations in India with a total production capacity of over 8.6 million tonnes of fertilizers per annum. During the year 2010-2011, IFFCO reached the highest production figure of 12.6 million tonnes of fertilizer with sales turnover of over Indian Rupees 220 billion.