Monday 16 October is World Food Day. This time the context is different. This is a time of urgency. Less arable land. Less pasture for livestock. Lack of water. Drought. In Mauritius, one of the most vulnerable small island states and a tourist destination par excellence, the challenge is twofold: we have 2.6 million people to feed.
On this first Saturday in September, we head to the brand new National Wholesale Market in Belle-Rive, Wooton. The fog is lifting over the Central Plateau and the morning sun is shining brightly. At 8 o'clock in the morning, we witnessed the last ballet of trolleys and bales of vegetables weaving their way between gondolas and lorries. The auction ends, leaving a metal shed with a muddy concrete floor, almost empty.
And what if, tomorrow, climate change turns this empty shed into the sad daily life of Wooton? Without going into the disaster scenario, we need to be aware of the extremes. Climate change is exacerbating violent meteorological phenomena: heat waves in Europe, alternating heavy rain and prolonged drought in Mauritius. This inevitably has an impact on our plates.
"Food security is an issue that is not sufficiently addressed in the major strategies to combat climate change. The effects of overproduction - in response to overconsumption - are being felt. The increased pollution caused by the use of so-called greenhouse products contributes to global warming, not to mention the environmental impact of storage and transport to markets," says Takesh Luckho, a PhD in development economics and independent researcher.
He adds: "Goal 12 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals focuses on the need to achieve sustainable consumption and production patterns. Poor countries are struggling to integrate such guidelines into their development strategies. Small island states and territories - of which Mauritius is a perfect example - are the most vulnerable to climate change and rising sea levels, even though their contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions remains negligible.
"Given our size and lack of natural resources, Mauritius is dependent on imports to meet the needs of its population, a population that craves foreign products in the midst of Made in Mauritius," points out economist Takesh Luckho. "As our development strategy is mainly focused on growth at any cost, we often forget about the other social and/or climate-related aspects. Previous government budgets have tried to integrate the fight against climate change into the country's fiscal and policy measures [...]. There is still a long way to go to achieve the sustainable development goals.
The will to produce
The inability to import during the coronavirus period has led to a renewed interest in basic agriculture, using whatever means are available. We have fallen back into the ways of the past, relying on imports to replace our lack of local production (including meat and fish). Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the impact on raw materials has given us food for thought.
Patrick Lagesse, Managing Director of the Médine Group's Agriculture Division, points out that producers, the Chamber of Agriculture and government agencies are doing a tremendous amount of work to better manage these situations. The new Minister of Agro-Industry, Teeruthraj Hurdoyal, knows a thing or two about agricultural practices. A series of meetings with senior officials from his ministry and satellite organisations, as well as private sector institutions, should lead to a simpler strategy capable of delivering concrete results.
But Shemida Ramdewar-Emrith, president of the auctioneers' association, says there is still a long way to go. "There is no harmonisation as yet. It's important that we work on that. Fruit and vegetable production is a vital activity for any country," she says. A farmer herself, with a Master's degree in agronomy, Ms Emrith explains that it is becoming increasingly difficult to make long-term forecasts because the drought is getting longer. The same goes for the rainy seasons. Not to mention the insects that attack the crops.
Agriculture, victim and executioner of the climate
Faced with these facts, it is tempting to make agricultural production the symbol of a mismanaged climate crisis. But that would be to overlook half the problem: the role of livestock and agriculture in exacerbating the greenhouse effect.
The various agricultural activities are rich in methane. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, methane is a "potent greenhouse gas" and has "more than 80 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide". The Agroscope organisation, based in Switzerland - a country known for its endless pastures - estimates that "one kilogram of methane contributes 28 times more to global warming than one kilogram of carbon dioxide over an average period of 100 years".
But the FAO is categorical: conventional agriculture is responsible for almost half of all methane emissions, a quarter of which comes from raising livestock for meat. The cultivation of rice, one of the most widely consumed grains in the world, accounts for around 20% of anthropogenic emissions of this gas. Agriculture also releases large amounts of nitrous oxide, mainly as a result of fertiliser run-off and the decomposition of crop residues and animal waste.
The climate change that threatens our crops is therefore partly linked to the way we produce.
Water, a resource that is difficult to manage
Water is the central theme of this year's World Food Day. The FAO points out that water is "a driving force for people and nature, and the basis of our food supply", and that freshwater "is not infinite". But climate change is dramatically complicating the management of this resource, as droughts are followed by torrential rains.
"Let's keep things simple to better understand the situation. A person is expected to consume two litres of water every day. But that person is not allowed to drink water for four days in a row. On the fifth day, we give them 10 litres of water, which is what they need for that period," explains Patrick Lagesse. "This is what we are now seeing in reality. Of course, the climate is variable. But over the last few years in. Mauritius, we have seen these changes swing from one extreme to the other: no rain, little rain or too much rain.
What does the future hold? Can we meet the challenge? "You see, food security is not just about production. It's about being able to sustain that production over time to meet demand. Production is seasonal. Farmers produce everything at the same time. So not only do we need to increase production, we also need to add value to that production, process it and store it," says Patrick Lagesse.
It's difficult to look into the future and predict the climate in these conditions.
Feeding ourselves differently
The dialectic between agriculture and climate illustrates the complexity of this century's crisis. A number of issues converge: food security, the use of chemical fertilisers, the loss of biodiversity...
But solutions are also multiplying: urban farms, aquaponics, vertical farming and many other alternative production methods. In Mauritius, there are countless groups and pages on social networks promoting this or that new farm or brand. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, and rather than a silver bullet, we will probably have to work with a galaxy of methods and players. The future, it seems, must be collaborative.
We also have a trump card that is not emphasised enough: changing the way we eat.
In 2019, a landmark study by the Eat-Lancet Commission proposed the concept of the eco-responsible plate. Put simply, this is a diet that maximises nutrition while conserving natural resources. The key is to replace animal proteins with dried grains, plant-based products and at least 50% vegetables.
Simply changing what we eat means changing the entire food system, as producers follow consumer purchases. According to analyses by the Eat-Lancet Commission, a diet based mainly on plants and vegetables dramatically reduces greenhouse gas emissions and contributes to better health. Eating differently, in Mauritius as elsewhere, is therefore an unexpected but effective strategy for combating climate change.
The power is not only in our hands - it's on our plates.