A lease agreement was signed, during an official ceremony at the Caudan Arts Centre in Port Louis, between the Mauritius Cane Industry Authority (MCIA) and Landscope (Mauritius) Limited for the construction of a sugar storage warehouse facility of a capacity of 150,000 tons at Riche Terre.
The MCIA also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Development Bank of Mauritius (DBM) for an upfront crop financing loan to small sugar cane planters for cane replantation.
The Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Dr Renganaden Padayachy; the Attorney General, Minister of Agro-Industry and Food Security, Mr Maneesh Gobin; and other eminent personalities were present on that occasion.
In his address, Minister Gobin expressed satisfaction with regards to the signature of the two agreements as they reflected the symbiosis among several institutions which, he said, previously operated in silos. He highlighted that interaction among the MCIA and the two other institutions was important as it would help to reduce costs and provide access to financing.
Framework
He further pointed out that Government was confident that, with the necessary framework, the Mauritian sugarcane sector had a bright future ahead. He observed that the target of producing 250,000 tons of sugar last year was attained and indicated that the long-term target stood at 400,000 tons per year.
Minister Gobin also enumerated some facilities and schemes at the disposal of planters and appealed to the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development for additional funds so as to be able to further develop the agro-industry sector in Mauritius.
For his part, Minister Padayachy recalled that the sugarcane industry, as well as the agriculture sector in general, greatly contributed to the socio-economic development of the country. He stated that agreements such as the ones signed helped develop a synergy among institutions and played a key role in ensuring the economic development of Mauritius.
Dr Padayachy underlined that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Government was determined to provide all necessary facilities for further developing the agricultural sector and entrepreneurship locally. He added that each year, Government would announce strong measures for these sectors, which would help accelerate inclusive development.
