The wreckage of the bulk carrier vessel (MV Wakashio) on 25 July 2020 at Pointe D’Esny, led to oil spillage, causing damage to the diverse marine system.

In the wake of this crisis, government initiated urgent actions to mitigate the impact of the oil spillage. Along the same line, a tripartite Funding and Implementation Agreement was signed among AFDB, Government of Mauritius and the UNDP for Humanitarian Emergency Assistance program. To empower the affected communities, the Food and Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (FAREI) was called upon for capacity building and start up assistance in the field of organic cropping and egg production.

Some 225 households involving some 1200 beneficiaries were empowered, through training and start up assistance, in the south east and eastern regions of the island. The main localities concerned were; Quatre Soeurs, Grand River South East, Grand Sable, Mahebourg and Vieux Grand Port. 125 starter kits of garden tools were donated for organic cropping and concerning egg production, 100 battery cages together with 500 poultry layers and 5 tons of feed for egg production were distributed to the beneficiaries. Along the same line, two booklets on household farming and compost making were published for the training purposes.

The handing over ceremony of starter kits and certificates was organised by the Ministry of Agro Industry in collaboration with FAREI on the 26th of February 2022 at the “Maison des Pecheurs”, Mahebourg.

The Hon Maneesh Gobin, Minister of Agro Industry and Food Security marked the function. Other eminent personalities, Hon. Mahendranuth Sharma Hurreeram, Minister of National Infrastructure and Community Development, Hon. Stephan Toussaint, Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Recreation and Hon. Rameswar Doolub, Member of Parliament graced the function. Ms Christine Umutoni, UN Resident Coordinator and Mr Tony Muhumuza, Officer in charge UNDP were also present.

All our distinguished guests emphasised on the importance of household farming to ensure sustainable food security, particularly with the prevailing challenges of climate and COVID 19 pandemic.

Based on the positive response of all the beneficiaries to Humanitarian Emergency Assistance program, we can claim that the project has been a real success.