The insular and tropical context of Mauritius makes vegetable production and fight against pest and diseases of crops complex, and has led the plantersto use pesticides excessively. This situation has been aggravated/complicated by the observed and potential effects of climate change such as an acceleration in the growth and propagation of pests and disease carriers, as well as a decrease in the soil humidity. As a means of addressing those challenges, the MCA (Mauritius Chamber of Agriculture), in collaboration with the FAREI (Food and Agricultural Research Extention Institute) and with the scientific and technical support of CIRAD Reunion, has set up the Smart Agriculture project.

Through a structured and collective approach, this project proposes to accompany a network of producers, in a step wise process of re-designing their cultivations systems. This project is based on the hypothesis, shared by the scientific communities, that the transition from the current agricultural systems to agro-ecological systems, will increase the resilience of our agriculture in the face of climate change. These changes will also, in the long term, mitigate the negative impacts on the environmental. The agro-ecological transition of these systems should also help in reducing the use of pesticides on cultivations, diminishing thus the sanitary risks which is linked to pesticides spraying and to the subsequent consumption of these vegetables.