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Seychelles' Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources in 1993 gave up the management of five state-owned farms, which were divided into small plots and leased to individuals.[1] In addition, theagricultural sector consisted of state farms of theSeychelles Agricultural Development Company (Sadeco) and the outer islands managed by the IDC; three other large holdings producing mainlycoconuts,cinnamon, andtea; about 250 families engaged in full-time production of foodstuffs; and an estimated 700 families working on a part-time basis. Many households cultivate gardens and raiselivestock for home consumption.[1]
The total cultivable area of the islands is only about 400hectares.[1] Although rainfall is abundant, wet and dry seasons are sharply defined. Betterirrigation anddrainage systems are needed to improve food crops.[1] Thegovernment has taken various measures to reduce dependency on imported foods, including deregulating production and marketing and reducing the trades tax onfertilizers andequipment.[1] As a result,vegetable andfruit production climbed from 505 tons in 1990 to 1,170 tons in 1992.[1] This increase failed to be matched by a commensurate decrease in imports of fruits and vegetables, which reached 3,471 tons in 1992.[1] Local consumption had apparently increased, and substitution between imported and domestic foodstuffs was possible only to a limited degree.[1] In most cases, importedproduce is significantly cheaper in spite ofair freight,import taxes, and other costs, necessitating a high import markup by the SMB to prevent disruption of domestic production.[1] Neitherrice, a dietarystaple, nor other grains can be grown on the islands.[1]
The expansion of livestock production is hampered by encroachment of housing and other development on agricultural land as well as by increased labor and animal feed costs.[1] The number ofcattle slaughtered in 1992 (329 head) was virtually unchanged from five years earlier.[1] The slaughter ofpigs (4,598) was about 45 percent higher than 1987, andchicken production (439,068) had risen by 60 percent.[1]
The two traditionalexportcrops ofcopra (dried coconut meat from which an oil is produced) and cinnamon have declined greatly because of the high cost of production and pressure from low-cost competitors on the international market.Vanilla, formerly important, is produced on a very small scale.[1] Tea grown on the misty slopes ofMahé is a more recent plantation crop, serving mainly the local market.[1]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)Currency:Seychellois rupee | |
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