1

Annual Report 2014

2

Contents Activities realized ........................................................................................................................................ 3

On-going Activity ...................................................................................................................................... 11

On-Project ................................................................................................................................................. 19

Updates ...................................................................................................................................................... 19

Current Committee Members ................................................................................................................. 20

Current Members ..................................................................................................................................... 20

Advisory Committee ................................................................................................................................. 20

Resigning Members ................................................................................................................................. 21

3

Activities realized

1. Presentation on climate change and drawing competition at APDA

2. Solidarity with Lupus Alert

Painting competition and presentation on Climate Change at APDA

Venue: APDA School, Curepipe

Date: 24th September 2014

In collaboration with the Teaching Staff of APDA School

Overview

The aim of the painting competition was to sensitize children on the importance of

agriculture and the impact of climate change. Prior to the painting competition a short

power point presentation was done in order to help the children understand the

4

importance and opportunities that agriculture has to offer and also on the impact of

climate change and how they can mitigate it through agriculture.

Activity description

This activity would not have been possible without the collaboration of the whole

Sustainable Agricultural Organisation Team. They were highly motivated and helped for

the proper functioning of the activity throughout its duration. Ms. Anusha Seechurn

made a vegetarian chocolate cake especially for the children; Ms. Nivershee

Theeroovengadum brought some banana cakes to distribute among the children. Other

members contributed to buy fruits, juice and plastic mugs in order to provide a small

collation for the children.

The power point presentation started with the collaboration from the staff of APDA

School who helped us to communicate and with the children. Since the children only

communicate through sign languages, the assistance of the teachers was

indispensable. In order to make the presentation more lively, chocolates were given to

those children who would answer to questions and participate actively in the

presentation. The presentation was performed two times; once with more mature

students and the second time with pre-primary children. With the mature students the

presentation was more in depth and therefore took longer compared with pre-primary

ones which only covered the basic part. In the end we made as such that each child get

equal chance to participate and have the opportunity to get a chocolate.

This first activity would never have been possible without the help of the APDA staff

members and the Sustainable Agricultural Organisation team. A special thanks equally

goes to Mrs. Mariam Sumun for the opportunity she has given to us to carry out our first

activity and the welcome she gave to us.

5

Figure 1: SAO Team

Figure 2: APDA students preparing for the presentation

6

Figure 3: A model farm designed by a student

Figure 4: Student answering a question

7

Figure 5: participation of the students during presentation

Figure 6: Students participating in drawing competition

8

Sustainable Agricultural Organisation

Helping the NGO Lupus-alert in its annual fund raising

Event agenda: Fund raising for Lupus- alert

Date: 30th September to 3rd October

In collaboration with the University of Mauritius

And Faculty of Agriculture

Overview

The aim of this event was to help the NGO Lupus Alert in its annual fund raising. Boxes

were put in strategic points during the days that followed the 100th anniversary of the

Faculty of Agriculture.

9

Activity description

During the days that followed the 100th anniversary of the Faculty of Agriculture, a total

of 5 boxes were made available to the public to contribute for the fund raising. The

boxes were placed near the stalls of the Agricultural Society, the BSc Agriscience and

Technology (Minor- agrifood marketing) and that of the BSc Agriscience and technology

(Minor: agricultural extension). The credit of the success of this event goes to 2 of our

members; Ms. Danitza Latour and Ms. Vijaya Poonoosamy who had taken the

responsibility of the boxes and were excellent in their endeavour.

Figure 7: Ms. Vijaya asking for contribution

10

Figure 8: The contribution box on the stall of the Agricultural Society

Figure 9: Some young students contributing for the fund raising

11

On-going Activity

Project Smart Agriculture in collaboration with AIESEC UTM

Smart Agriculture

February 2014

AIESEC Mauritius

12

Smart Agriculture

Executive summary Smart Agriculture aims at exposing international interns from all over the world to the

concept of sustainable agriculture for them to be able to contribute to their country’s

food security through establishment of home gardens.

The participants will be exposed to each pillar of agriculture through courses followed

by a site visit relative to the agricultural sector they have covered. After each site visit

the participants are expected to write a comparative report from what they have learnt

from their site visit and what happens in their individual country.

Examples of comparative reports relative to their country they have to write are:

The pig sector The dairy sector The fisheries sector The poultry sector

In order to be able to write the report, the participants are expected to have a minimum

knowledge on development of the agriculture sector in their country for them to be

able to make a comparison and bring recommendations.

About AIESEC AIESEC is a global youth network impacting the world through leadership development

experiences. AIESEC has been facilitating youth leadership activities as well as

international internships & volunteer experiences for over 65 years, developing a global

learning environment across 140 countries & territories. AIESEC is a global, non-

political, independent, not-for-profit organization run by students and recent graduates

of institutions of higher education. The members are interested in world issues,

leadership and management.

13

AIESEC has 7 values which are to activate leadership skills, to demonstrate integrity

during decision making, to live in diversity by respecting the ethical belonging of the

other members, to enjoy participation of activities through creation of dynamic

environment, to strive for excellence by producing excellent results and to act

sustainable in order to achieve long term gains.

Need and Opportunity Analysis

Problem overview As per the Food and Agricultural Organisation (2013) the population will reach the mark

of 9 billion by 2050 and food production needs to be doubled in order to feed the

people. However achieving this aim is becoming more and more difficult since

agriculture is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Agriculture has to face

three challenges: ensuring food security through increased productivity and income,

adapting to climate change and contributing to climate change mitigation. Sustainable

agriculture is one of the most effective ways to produce in the long term while taking into

consideration the various aspects of nature.

Current trends This project believes that the key for a sustainable and peaceful world lies in the hands

of the youth community. It is the good vision of the young people that will help in the

construction of a better world where human beings will have more respect for the nature

and learn to live in harmony with it. Educating the young people about the importance of

agriculture and the impact of climate change during their early initiation will help them

develop an interest in agriculture and farming. This project further seeks to encourage

the participants to think critically and bring about solutions that may help to bolster the

food production both in Mauritius and in their respective country.

14

The Mission: Promote the acceptance and adoption of Sustainable Agriculture

among the young generation for meeting the challenge of sustainable and climate –

resilient food security.

Rationale for the project

Inherited farming knowledge

Conventional farm practices (Use of excess pesticides and

fertilizers)

Lack of interest of the younger generation in farming

Potential issues for interns During the course of the internship, there will be several challenges that are likely to be

faced:

Language barrier

Apart from the difficulties associated with start-ups, given the Mauritian reality, one

of the main barriers will be the communication barrier in Mauritius. International

participants who know how to speak

French will be at an advantage. While Mauritians do understand English, most of

them are more familiar with French.

Culture clash

Interaction with a diverse group might cause culture clashes which might hinder the

work that needs to be done.

Knowledge in agriculture

While a lot of the international participants are university students and might like in

urban areas, their knowledge on agriculture might be restricted.

15

Opportunity The various positive outcomes of this project are as follows:

General knowledge

The interns will have a good grasp of how the foods they likely consume are

produced and in what conditions.

Critical thinking

The interns are expected to make a gap between the production systems in

Mauritius and from their respective countries. They will also have to make

recommendations so as to improve our production system.

Resources available

Strong and dedicated team of interested members Contacts of stakeholders in agriculture Close collaboration with, and support of NGOs such as Sustainable Agricultural

Organisation and Roches Noir Eco-Marine Close collaboration from semi parastatal bodies such as FAREI

Overview of project Smart Agriculture aims at exposing international interns from all over the world to the

concept of sustainable agriculture for them to be able to contribute to their country’s

food security through establishment of home gardens.

The participants will be exposed to each pillar of agriculture through courses followed

by a site visit relative to the agricultural sector they have covered. After each site visit

the participants are expected to write a comparative report from what they have learnt

from their site visit and what happens in their individual country.

Examples of comparative reports relative to their country they have to write are:

The pig sector The dairy sector The fisheries sector The poultry sector

16

In order to be able to write the report, the participants are expected to have a minimum

knowledge on development of the agriculture sector in their country for them to be able

to make a comparison and bring recommendations.

Activities: Timeline

Date Week Activities

12-Dec 1 to 2 Recruitment of team

19-Dec 3 to 4 Finalize trainers and syllabus

26-Dec 5 to 8 Finalize project partners

07-Jan 9 one week buffer

12-Jan 10 Arrival of International Participants

Opening Ceremony, Training of International Participants and Team

formation 15-Jan 11

Submission of project proposal and Start of 19-Jan 12 implementation of project

07-Feb 13 Implementation of project

14-Feb 14 Implementation of project

Implementation of project and closing

23-Feb 15 ceremony

26-Feb 16 Departure of interns

17

Description of Events

Week 1 19th- 23rd Jan

Week 2 26th-30th Jan

Week 3 2nd-6th Feb

Week 4 9th-13th Feb

Week 5 16th-20th Feb

Week 6 23rd-26th Feb

Monday climate change + landscaping

Pest and disease

The poultry sector Hydroponics Marine life

Crocodile park

Tuesday Site visit to model farm

Insect collection

Site visit to poultry farm

Site visit for hydroponics

site visit to roches noir

Casela or black river gorges

Wednesday Vegetables The pig industry

The dairy sector Fruit industry

site visit to marine cages

closing ceremony

Thursday Site visit to field

Site visit to pig farm

Site visit to dairy sector

site visit to orchard

Meeting of local fisherman Free

Friday Presentation and feed back

Presentation and feed back

Presentation and feed back

Presentation and feed back

Presentation and feed back Free

18

Benefits to Partners

We will be offering the following benefits to our sponsors:-

Organization/company logo on all promotional materials used in the project,

which will be visible through media coverage.

Banner space on the days of the events Invitation

for all events organized for the project

Promotion of organization/company’s logo and profile in the internal AIESEC

system, viewed by 50,000 members.

19

On-Project

Prize giving ceremony at APDA to reward the best paintings

Garden Establishment at APDA

Updates

1. Official Meetings

In order to make our meetings more professional, we have decided that all our

meetings and conferences will be in English. Our aim is to promote good

communication skill among our members for them to be able to interact actively

during conferences when they will be representing SAO.

2. SAO Website

IndexOf Ltd which is responsible for creating and maintaining the website of SAO

will soon be proceeding to the contract signing with SAO. At this stage the

company is finalizing some minor details and bugs concerning the website.

3. Sponsorship from Indian oil

The oil company in Mauritius, Indian has sponsored SAO with 10 gifts for the

prize giving to be held at APDA.

20

Current Committee Members

President- Mr.Ramborun Vagish

Vice-President-Mr. Lobin Keshwar

Secretary-Ms. Goundan Anushka

Asst.Secretary-Ms. Seechurn Anusha

Treasurer-Mrs. Jhunputh Varuna

Asst.Treasurer-Ms. Theeroovengadum Sadiana Nivershee

Public Relation Officer- Ms. Seerputh soobhashinee

Current Members

Ms.Poonoosamy Vijaya

Mr.Aadarsh Ramdinee

Mr. Jean Dionovan Polimon

Ms. Danitza Latour

Ms. Sivani Ramdewor

Mr. Mohnish Seewoonarain

Mr. Youdiesh Dabeeah

Advisory Committee

Professor S Facknath- Professor in Sustainable Agriculture, Faculty of Agriculture,

University of Mauritius

Ms Anishah Aujayeb- Curator of the Port Louis Hub

Dr.Kamlesh Dookayka- Oxford International Consultants (Mauritius) Ltd (OIM)

21

Resigning Members

Ms. Bocus Narvada