(Seychelles News Agency) - An agricultural sector that is supported and functioning well plays a crucial role in ensuring food security in Seychelles and helps reduce the reliance on importation, said the Seychelles Farmers' Association chairperson.

Andre Sopha, from Praslin, the second largest island of the Seychelles archipelago, has been the chairperson of the Association for six years. Sopha has been a farmer for 18 years and specialises mainly in livestock and fruits.

He has served two mandates and told SNA that this will be his last and that election for the new chairperson and executive committee are expected to be held this year.

The Seychelles Farmers' Association set up in the early 2000, has over 110 members from the three main islands of Seychelles, Mahe, Praslin and La Digue. Around 40 farmers are from Praslin.

With the high demands for produce from the population and the tourism industry, there is a need to increase agricultural production and sustainable agriculture.

Sopha said, "We have undertaken major climate adaptation projects in two educational institutions namely the Grand Anse Praslin Secondary School and the Seychelles Institute of Agriculture and Horticulture (SIAH). The two projects are doing very well. Both projects have been funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) - Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP)."

The chairperson said that the Association has received 12 greenhouses, 10 are for farmers across the three main islands, one at Grand Anse Praslin Secondary School and the other at SIAH.

The Association will also have solar water pumps and machines they can use to make value-added products for example, if farmers have excess oranges on their farms, they can use one of these machines to make a value-added product with these fruits.

The Association's board will be holding a meeting to discuss which farms will benefit from these and a few elements will need to be taken into account including being up to date with their membership contribution.

The equipment will not be given free of charge and those who will receive it will have to make a small contribution as well.

Sopha (1st left) with the Seychelles' delegation at an international conference. (Andre Sopha) Photo License: All Rights Reserved

Challenges farmers face

Sopha said, "Farms do suffer a lot during drought periods. So we hope to have a project at Amitie to help with this issue. We also face several other challenges such as a lack of resources for us to work with such as pesticides and fertilisers, which can impact our work and productivity."

He said the Association is working to ensure that there is an availability of resources for farmers to work with and one of them is land needed for farming.

"Land is also an issue because we have individuals who want to start their farming business but cannot do so as plots of agricultural land are occupied by some farmers who are not being productive. We are working closely with the government to see how best we can address this issue whereby those interested in venturing into farming can do so by accessing a plot of agricultural land," the chairperson explained.

Giving knowledge and skills

One of the aims of the Association is to ensure that its members are given new knowledge and skills to help them improve their businesses.

"We bring in experts in respective fields to equip farmers with the latest information or skills on different elements such as fertiliser and how to measure acidity or humidity in the soil," Sopha explained.

He said the Association wants a vibrant and productive agricultural sector and that there is a need to see it as an important sector that is making a great contribution to Seychelles.

Encouraging the youth to venture into agriculture

To ensure that the agricultural sector remains sustainable for the years to come there is also a move to include more young people.

To encourage young people to join the agricultural sector, Sopha said the Association is bringing in the use of technology in agriculture.

"The world is evolving and so must agriculture. We have chosen two schools to work with because our young people are based there. At Grand Anse Praslin Secondary we have a rotavator which we have placed there for a period of time for the students to use, and have installed a new irrigation system that you only press a button and it waters the plants," he shared. 

"This is to encourage the youths not just to take up farming but to make them realise that even in agriculture there is evolution, to see that new technology exists within this sector, and the tiring ways of farming can be replaced by smart work," he added.

"We need to have good incentives and proper educational awareness on agriculture so that this young generation can take an interest in this field. So we need to find innovative ways to encourage our young people to continue developing our agricultural sector because we want to ensure food security and successful production in the future," Sopha said.

"I meet the authorities often but we need to see more actions being done and to hear the concerns of the farmers working on the ground. Farmers need to be part and parcel of decisions made which concern and heavily impact their work," he added.