THE EVOLUTION OF MAURITIAN AGRICULTURE TILL 1990

Presented by:Anusha Babooa

The history of agriculture in Mauritius can be said to have

had four distinct periods of development:

The Portuguese and the Dutch

period. The French occupation period.The British occupation period.The post-independence period.

THE PORTUGUESE AND THE DUTCH PERIOD

Mauritian agriculture started when the Portuguese first visited the island around the year 1507. 1st Dutch settlement (1638)• Tobacco, chicken, sheep, cattle, goats, pigs, tobacco, food crops, many kinds of fruit trees and sugarcane from Djakarta (1639). 2nd Dutch settlement (1662)• The farmers were persuaded to grow rice, maize, sweet potato, banana, pineapple, vegetables and to rear sheep, cattle & pigs. 

THE FRENCH PERIOD French rule (1715-1810) In 1735, Mahé de Labourdonnais

established sugarcane as the main crop. He encouraged the production of indigo,

coffee, cotton & spices, food crops

and the rearing of livestock.  He set up the first sugar mill at Ville-

bague and a second one at Ferney. Pierre Poivre consolidated the production of

sugarcane and rice. 

THE BRITISH PERIOD British rule (1810-1968) main events:• the successful efforts made by Governor Farquhar and Cole to increase sugarcane production • the reduction of the entry-tax on Mauritian sugar entering Great• Britain in 1826,which encouraged planters to increase their production• the rise in the price of sugar which helped the sugar industry to develop further• the payment of compensation to planters for the liberation of their slaves in 1835. This money was invested in their plantations• the arrival of indentured Indian labourers in 1835 to work in the fields• the replacement of coffee, cloves and indigo by sugarcane after cyclones had damaged them• the introduction of efficient mills for the extraction of sugar.

All these events brought about an increase in:

The area under sugarcane cultivation

The amount of sugar produced

The number of sugar mills

Set up of agricultural institutes:

The Chamber of Agriculture (1835) The “Station Agronomique” (1893) The College of Agriculture (1925) The Sugarcane Research Station (1930)/ MSIRI (1953) The Cyclone and Drought Insurance Board (1946). Now known Sugar Insurance Fund Board (SIFB).

Sources: Beintema et. al (1995); Naidu (n.d.); Corbett (2002.

In 1968: Only 21 major factories were operating and were producing about 700,000 tons of sugar annually. The reasons being:

• The use of machines to prepare the land. • The application of artificial fertilizers to sugarcane plantation.• The use of chemicals to control weeds, pests and diseases.• The growing of improved varieties of sugarcane.• The adoption of irrigation methods.• The increase in the area of irrigated lands• The introduction of efficient machines and equipment in the factories.

POST-INDEPENDENCE PERIOD Sugar and tea were the only exports of Mauritius although the share

of tea was quite insignificant.  It can be said that when the British left Mauritius after independence in 1968, the country had a monocrop economy. 

 Importance of agriculture in mauritius:•  It occupies more than half of the land area.• It produces food and raw materials.•  Majority of people are employed in agriculture and agriculture-related jobs.•  Many agricultural goods are for export•  The net foreign exchange earnings from the export of agriculture goods are greater

than those of any other exported goods.

Agriculture and land-Use• The total area of Mauritius is 194,494 hectares, out of which, about 110,796

hectares are productive agricultural lands.

AGRICULTURE

CROPS

Local consumptio

nTobacco

potato &

other vegetables

For exportSugarcane,tropical

Fruits,

flowers

(anthurium), tea

LIVESTOCKS

Meat production:Cattle, deer, pork,

poultry, mutton, beef

Milk production: cow, goat

FISHING

1980-Local fish1990-tuna

fishing

Crops produced in 1988Sugarcane ≈597,970 tons exported Tea - 36,162 tons(79.3% exported)Tobacco – 967 tons(all consumed locally)Potato – 12,770 tons(sold locally)Other vegetables (local consumption)Fruits – (small quantity exported)Flowers –(mainly Anthurium-5.9 million

worth Rs23.2 million exported)

suga

rtea

potato

oniongin

ger

peanuts

maize

fisherie

s

milk pro

duction

05000

10000150002000025000300003500040000

1970

1970

Production value of selected foodstuff in 1970’s

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT

Total Home Output economy

GDP = Total money value of all the goods & services produced in a country in 1 year.

Contribution of agriculture to the GDP

year 1968 1976 1980 1985 1990

Contribution To GDP (%)

27.6 23.2 10.5 14.2 10.7

Percentage of total exports (%)

96.0 86.5 69.7 45.2 30.8

Percentage of employment (%) **(establishments employing > 10 people)

45.3 33.5 25.9 21.6 14.1

Sources: 1. Economic indicators & Digests of stats (CSO)

2. Various annual reports

Contribution to GDP (%)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1968

1976

1980

1985

1990

19681976198019851990

% of total exports

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

19681976

19801985

1990

19681976198019851990

% of em-ployment

(estab-lishments employ-ing > 10 people)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

19681976

19801985

1990

19681976198019851990

Agriculture's share in GDP

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

1970-41975-91980-41985-9

Source: O'connell & Ndulu (2000)

FROM 1968-1990, REDUCED IMPORTANCE OF THE SUGAR

INDUSTRY Contribution to GDP- 6 times smaller % of total exports- 6 times smaller % of employment in large establishments- 7.5

times smaller Percentage of total employment – only 11.4

in 1990

Sources: 1. Economic indicators &

Digests of stats (CSO) 2. Various annual reports

WHY ?

British rule(19th century)

Under imperial preference system(1919) 240,000 tonnes in 1925 till 1970’s- sugar still the important economic sector trade preferences 1. sugar protocol(1975) Lome convention(ACP/EU) 2. special preferential sugar(SPS) agreement(1995) duty free acess to EU

stable source of earning market for fixed quantity

Diversification over the years at a guaranteed price

The ups & downs in the agricultural economy

• Economy open to international trade• Production of sugarcane1820• End of Prevalence of malaria leading to the increase in the rate

of population reaching 3% per annum• Malthusian case scenario1950• James Meades (Nobel prize winner in economics) predicting a

dismal future leading to a positive transformation to the economy1960

• Strong expansion of economy• Number of people employed in agricultural sector-2.5 times in

manufacturing1970• Growth of economy at an impressive rate of 6%• Gross exports of the EPZ surpassed sugar exports• In late 80’s decline of economy due to labour shortage, rising

inflation..1980

• Sign of modest recovery with solid real growth & low unemployment

• However Mauritius depended heavily for its supplies on imports

• It imported the total amount of its 2 basic staples-rice & sugar

• Over 80% of its consumption needs in milk, beef & lamb

1990

SUGAR19701970

Monocrop Economy

TEXTILESUGARTOURISM

1980

Manufacturing & Tourism

TEXTILESUGARTOURISMFINANCIALSERVICESFREEPORT

1990

Manufacturing & Services Economy

2000

Business Platform

TEXTILESUGARTOURISM FINANCIAL SERV.ICT / BPOREAL ESTATE SEAFOOD/AQUACULTURE KNOWLEDGEHEALTH ENERGY

Conclusion : Our Economic trajectory

References• http://www.mauritius-embassy.de/gif/big/html/agriculture

• http://www.mongabay.com/reference/country_studies/mauritius/index.html

• Country Studies Program, formerly the Army Area Handbook Program, From The Library of Congress• http://prosi.net.mu/mca_002.htm• http://www.gov.mu/portal/site/moa/menuitem• http://www.areu.mu/files/pub/areunssp.pdf• http://library.thinkquest.org/C0110237/Agriculture_/agriculture_.html?tql-iframe#Top• http://benmuse.typepad.com/ben_muse/growth/• http://www.gov.mu/portal/sites/ncb/ppp/pbiguide.htm#top• revised report of C&W growth estimate to refer to the period from 1970-1982, instead of "the

1970s".• MULTI-CRITERIA PLANNING FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT: A FULL EMPLOYMENT STRATEGY

FOR MAURITIUS by J. L. Clovis Vellin, Timothy D. Mount, Thomas T. Poleman • The Agricultural Sector of Mauritius,Economic Aspects,Past, present and future Pierre Dinan(DCDM)

• Mauritius: An Economic Success Story ,Ali Zafar ,January 2011 • AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INDICATORS,ASTI Country Brief No. 7 • May 2003

• The Emerging Economic Model of Mauritius ,Mr. Raj Makoond,Director, Joint Economic Council –presentation at seafood conference,03/03/06, JEC ppt

THANK YOU