Organic / Cooperation projects
Rodrigues regional assembly has an ambitious goal: to transform the island's agricultural sector into organic farming by 2030. The aim of this transition is to create a more secure, environmentally-friendly agriculture that offers greater support to farmers. Water, a precious and scarce natural
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Context

In Rodrigues, agriculture, with its strong traditions, is an important socio-economic sector on the island. In 2016, it accounted for 34% of jobs, but 16% of Rodrigues' working population, mainly women. This population is now aging. Moreover, the sector remains unattractive to young people. Farms are small (0.3 ha on average). Agriculture is family-based (5083, compared with 23 business farms); staple crops are red beans, onions, garlic, corn and vegetables; some surpluses can be exported. In addition, a number of Rodrigues agroproducts have been identified as singular in that they present a strong typicity and original quality attributes combining organoleptic quality, local savoir-faire and commercial recognition, a quality recognized in the Indian Ocean and internationally. These are the Limon, Ti-Piment and honey sectors, which are described as high value-added production. Livestock production includes pork, cattle, poultry and small ruminants (goats and sheep) for export to Mauritius. In 2014, 77.5% of farms were diversified (mixed crop-livestock).

A goal : the transition of the island's agricultural sector into organic farming

Rodrigues' regional assembly's ambition is to make the territory "an ecological island", which should both improve the well-being of the resident population and become a major, strong asset in positioning the territory in a highly competitive tourism panorama.

To achieve this goal, Rodrigues' regional assembly has declared an objective of transitioning the agricultural sector towards organic farming by 2030, which will be safe in terms of health, respectful of the environment and more supportive of farmers. The 2014 census shows that this orientation is already present among farmers, with 81% using organic inputs. Particular efforts are focused on high value-added agricultural production. This organic conversion requires, as a first step, an analysis of existing farming systems and the resources they mobilize, in order to make an informed assessment of the field of possibilities in terms of costs, regulatory framework and associated technical and human investments.

Particular attention to water resources

Particular attention is also devoted to water resource constraints, both in terms of quantity and quality, and to water availability. The area is characterized by increasingly frequent periods of drought, erratic rainfall and growing domestic demand for water, which cannot be met during the driest periods. As a result, agricultural water is in desperately short supply, with production falling in times of drought and confidence in the sector waning. The result is a reduction in the area of farmland used for crops and/or livestock, and a loss of biodiversity and traditions. Today, only 90 ha of land are irrigated (for more than 1,767 ha under cultivation). The amount of water available for agricultural activities therefore remains a real problem. Given the objective of organic farming, particular attention will also be focused on water quality.

A multidisciplinary expertise mission assigned to Cirad

This mission has two objectives:

#ORGANIC - To propose different scenarios for the transition to organic farming (AB) in Rodrigues in 2030, within the framework of Rodrigues' Integrated Sustainable Development Plan (PDDIR) - based on concrete technical, organizational and temporal action proposals, and taking into account whether or not it will be possible to remove the identified constraints and manage the technical and financial risks that this transition implies for producers.

#WATER - Develop a draft Irrigation Management Plan (Schéma Directeur d'Irrigation - SDI), a true planning tool designed to ensure efficient, rational management of agricultural water, in terms of both quantity and quality.

Specifically in these two areas, a multidimensional approach is being implemented:

#ORGANIC – The cropping and livestock systems practiced on the island, for the different crops and livestock species, as well as the associated practices implemented by farmers and livestock farmers (particularly in terms of food resource management, use of sanitary treatments and fertilization and organic amendment practices) will be described.

The various technical, economic and organizational constraints with regard to the advantages of converting to AB, for the main crop and livestock systems and different types of farm, will be identified and described. The choice of support systems will depend on their assessment and whether or not they can be removed (to manage peak workloads involving external labor, potential additional costs of investment in mechanization, access to seeds and inputs, training and advisory needs, etc.).

#WATER - The challenges of supplying water for agricultural irrigation by 2030 will be defined on the basis of an inventory of existing agricultural hydraulic structures and irrigation systems, as well as the associated water resources, including a quantification of the surface water that can be mobilized for crop irrigation. The aim is to have a good representation of the balance between crop water supply and demand, and of the associated data collection resources.

The technical and logistical resources required to set up and operate an island-wide hydrometeorological network, and to collect, store and distribute irrigation water to individual farms and groups of farms (shared resources), will be assessed.

The technical pre-feasibility of a pilot project to determine the match between water supply and demand, and the implementation of a village-scale demonstrator of an efficient, water-saving irrigation system, is envisaged.

These various analyses will provide the basis for different scenarios taking into account both the agro-technical and organizational aspects identified in these two areas, and the related constraints. These scenarios will be discussed at a territorial workshop bringing together the various stakeholders involved in the development of agriculture in Rodrigues.

To be continued!