Watching a plant grow....

Watching a plant grow;

Tending to it like a baby,giving it the best of food:

Foliars, fresh manure and silty earth, 

Protecting it from the sparrow and the crow

Being its friend, its protective hood 

The farmer takes care of it as if he himself gave it birth...

Watching a plant grow,

To be dazed at the sight of the first plumule,the first leaflet 

To feel wonder with its first flower

And to wish it was already tomorrow

To simply feel the joy of a well deserved harvest by sunset

After a hard day's work in the changing weather..

Plunging into the native flora of Mauritius (Part 2)

 Day 2:

·         Identifying indigenous, endemic and exotic species in the Mauritian context.

Ø  Indigenous species are those which exist naturally in a given location or ecosystem. They have not been brought by man. They however can also exist elsewhere in the world. E.g. of an indigenous plant species in Mauritius are Bois d’olive (Cassine orientalis), Palmiste Bouteille (Hyophorbe lagenicaulis) and Bois de renette (Dodonaea viscosa).  Bois de renette is one plant species that is reputed for its medicinal properties.

Ø  Endemic species are those which are restricted to a particular geographic region and not found elsewhere in the world. For e.g. the Bois d’olive is endemic to the Mascarene region. The Trochetia boutoniana, officially declared as our national flower as from 1992, is a plant species endemic to Mauritius, but to show the extent of its endemism, we can say it is endemic to Le Morne Brabant.  Other plants endemic to Mauritius include the Trochetia parviflora, Trochetia blackburniana and the Dombeya mauritiana

Trochetia blackburniana

Hibiscus fragilis: another endemic flower of Mauritius

Ø  Exotic species do not naturally exist in a region, but have been brought by man.  The majority of plants that we see in the Mauritian landscape are exotic, for e.g. mango tree, banana tree, frangipani, bougainvillea.

Poinsettia: an introduced plant used in horticultural activities in Mauritius

·         Invasive alien species

These are exotic weeds which invade our native forests and suppress the growth of indigenous species. They are the major threat to our native forests as they proliferate rapidly. E.g. include privet, goyave de chine, ravenale, vieille fille, liane margoze and tabac bœuf.

Vieille fille ( Lantana sp )

Ravenale/ Travellers Palm (Ravenala madagascariensis  )

Plunging into the native flora of Mauritius... (Part 1)

In 2010, during my second year at the university while doing my degree in Agriculture, I had the opportunity to do a three week internship at the Forestry Division of the Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security.

I was posted at the Biodiversity Unit which is located in Curepipe, and it was an opportunity to plunge in the native flora of Mauritius.  Names which were just in my mind as recollections from book became real.  I met with endemic plant species that are unique to Mauritius; gifts that were not brought from elsewhere but which grow only on our island.

 

It was also the first time in my life when I got to realize how our biodiversity and native forests is interlinked to our Agriculture.  Less than 3% of our forests are native forests, and this facet of the Mauritian biodiversity is much unknown.

Day 1 of Internship:

-   Venue at the Forestry Service at Curepipe

·       - Learning about the different functions of the forest and how to differentiate between social, economic and environmental function.

• Social function

Social functions of forests include people visiting it for the purpose of leisure, jogging, hiking, camping, bird watching and so on.

•   Economic function

Forests provide us with wood products, non wood products. There is the creation of employment and the development of ecotourism.

• Environmental function

Forests are the home of a multitude of flora and fauna.  They are catchment areas for rivers and reservoirs, help in soil and water conservation and deal with carbon sequestration.

·         -  Defining and differentiating the terms “in-situ” conservation and “ex-situ” conservation.

• “In-situ” conservation (on site conservation)

It is the process of protecting an endangered species in its natural habitat itself.  This can be done by fencing, carrying out weeding, cleaning up the habitat and by defending the species against predators.

"Bouquet banane" (Ochna mauritiana)  in Perrier Nature Reserve

Several nature reserves exist in Mauritius which are independently shared and looked after by the Forestry Services, National Park and Conservation Services (NPCS) and the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation (MWF).  The picture above is  taken in an on site nature reserve which is restricted to the general public; the Perrier Nature Reserve, a small native forest located in the southern part of the Central Plateau.

•   “Ex-situ” conservation (off site conservation)

It is the process of protecting an endangered species by removing it from its threatened habitat and placing it under human care. Common methods include placing in botanical gardens, zoos, arboretum, nurseries and plant propagation centers.

Native plant species propagated in the nursery of the Forestry Division (Curepipe)

Indigenous fern species being taken care of in the Monvert Fernery (Forest-Side)

·        -   Documentation on the status of forests and land use in the Mauritian context. 

      Of the total surface area of mainland Mauritius, 43.3% is devoted to Agriculture, 29.4% to Forest plantations, scrubs, grazing areas, inland water and degraded lands (including plantations, deer farms, abandoned agricultural land) and remaining 27.2% is either built upon or unusable.[1]

Less than 2% of our near pristine forests remain nowadays.  This is occupied by State Forest Lands (plantations, nature reserves), Pas Geometriques or Privately Owned Forest Lands.  21528ha is under the occupancy of State Forest Lands.

  Invasive alien species constitute the major threat for our forests nowadays. They invade coastal habitats, mountains and other areas of terrestrial biodiversity. 

---

[1] Source: CSO, 2005 revised in 2008

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The Farmer...

People will look down at the farmer;

A man crouching in between plants; with weather beaten boots.

People will look down and wonder

Why he chose to dwell near brownish roots?

The farmer will look up and reply:

"I feed you and I feed the world";

"I like the sun, the rain and the changing sky"

"I am helped by the Bee and I help the Bird"

The choice to plough the land

Might have been out of Poverty,

A decision made my fore-fathers before hand

Or influenced by the Love of Nature and Simplicity...

Antique Farm Machinery

I was browsing through some pictures on my mobile and fell upon this one. It is an old antique tractor that I found while doing a site visit on a planter's field in Midlands.

Fig.1  An old antique type tractor

I recall how curious and thrilled I was when I saw it. I drifted back in old times and recalled some good books I read which made me feel the same thrill for the earth, weeds, vegetables and Nature.  Among these good reads were Anne of Green Gables (L.M Montgomery) and The Secret Garden (H Burnett).
I did feel that this blue and yellow framed old tractor must have held old dreams by its previous masters, it must have been preparing the soil as many curious, dreamy eyes gazed at it.
Today, it relaxes in an old field, still well kept but most probably having been replaced by some modern Massey Ferguson tractor...

The Grass root people…

Small growers are responsible in providing most of the vegetables we consume locally in Mauritius.  Some contribution is also made by large sugar estates.  We currently are self-sufficient in fresh vegetables, but for how long will this trend continue?

Chayote trellises...

I often come across cropping patterns or certain agricultural practices that strike me.  We are all familiar with crops being sown on the ground.  What happens when space is a limiting factor or the farmer is a dreamy fellow?

Something like the picture here stands out from the crowd...

This is a man-made "treliss" made out of old pvc pipes and wooden poles to support a chayote vine.

Pretty isn't it?  Lost in the middle of nowhere, it is set against a bamboo hedging and a row of plants that look like vetiver.

Chayote (Sechium edule) is conventionally grown on the ground where it is allowed to extend its vines and heart shaped leaves.  It can also be tamed to grow upright along trelisses, as shown above.  In Mauritius, the Sechium edule plant is treasured for:

• Its fruit; the chayote locally known as chouchou, 
• the leaves which serve to make the traditional brede-chouchou and finally
•  its root which are lesser known but once popular in ancestral times; cambarre chouchou

WEB 2.0 LEARNING OPPORTUNITY: MY EXPERIENCE

The Web 2.0 Learning Opportunity, an initiative offered by the CTA (Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Competition) was run at the Faculty of Agriculture from the 9th-27th of July, in Mauritius. This was possible with close collaboration between FoA, CTA and the Food and Agricultural Research Council (FARC).

   I was lucky to be part of the trainees selected for this training session.  Classes usually combined interactive activities like meta cards which were stuck on the walls (see picture above), hands on practicals after theory lessons, democracy walls where we could express our feelings openly after the day, nice short videos and delightfully jovial and patient trainers.

My personal experiences after following this session are a mix of professional tips that I have acquired but also nice moments that boosted my spirit up.  Basically the training helped:

• To learn about the use of Web 2.0. Tools (Google Docs, RSS Feeds, Google Maps, Skype, LinkedIn,  Wikis, Blogging, Twitter, Facebook,...)
• To use Web 2.0 tool for educational/work purposes related to Agriculture.Here for example, we learnt how we could subscribe to feeds related to our field of specializations such as latest crop/animal research, pest or disease outbreaks in Agriculture, etc, and thus get updates.  We also learnt how to collaborate on wikis and share our ideas.
• Learn about the Informal Learning Process and take a break from work routines!

A big word of thanks for CTA, FoA and the trainers who helped to disseminate Web 2.0. Tools amidst agricultural specialists.

My first post in Agriculture

Sustainable Agriculture has to do with the efficient use of our natural resources, ecological friendly means of farming or cultivating.  It can often integrate the use of practices such IPM, efficient fertilizer management or inputs management, composting, etc...