On Thursday September 4, Mrs. Fischer-Boel visited a cooperative dairy farm at Nouvelle Découverte, which is a project funded by the European Union. The 60 hectares dairy cooperative farm, regrouping 11 farmers, is home to 250 cows and produces some  1 000 litres of milk daily.

For the time being, the milk which is sold is not pasteurized. And as pasteurized milk fetches more money, the dairy cooperative farm has ordered a pasteurization unit worth more than Rs 730 000 from South Africa. The Ministry of Agro Industry and Fisheries is helping them in this venture. Furthermore, the Ministry is also providing them with all the veterinary services free of charge.

Last year, the dairy cooperative farm received a grant of Rs 4 million for upgrading its infrastructure. The EU’s Decentralised Cooperation Programme contributed 75 % of the funds, while various ministries and the farmers themselves put in the remaining 25 %. The money was used to tar the road leading to the farm and to install a water pump.

While interacting with the farmers, Mrs Fischer-Boel explained that by improving the nutritional value of the fodder, the cooperative could also improve the quality of the milk produced.

“I’m happy to see what you’re doing. Farmers are stronger when they work together. It’s very important that this cooperative becomes a success and a model for other farmers”, she said. The EU Commissioner further pointed out that government of Mauritius has an important role to play by encouraging the creation of small and medium-scale agricultural ventures.