Fruit tree sale in Seychelles promotes home gardens for World Food Day
General |Author: Salifa Karapetyan Edited by: Betymie Bonnelame | October 16, 2021, Saturday @ 07:15| 14600 views
The sale, organised at the Anse Boileau Research Centre, was one of several activities scheduled during the week to mark World Food Day on Saturday, October 16. (Seychelles Nation)
(Seychelles News Agency) - A fruit tree sale was organised Thursday alongside World Food Day activities in the hopes of improving food security in Seychelles.
The sale, organised at the Anse Boileau Research Centre, was one of several activities scheduled during the week to mark World Food Day on Saturday, October 16. This year the day is being commemorated under the theme "Our actions are our future. Better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life."
The principal agricultural scientist at the research centre, Roy Govinden, told SNA that the sale of fruit trees with a 25 percent discount is a way of encouraging individuals, backyard gardeners, and farmers to buy and plant more fruits trees.
"Doing this will help to increase our country's food security. The overall aim is this and at the same time, we want to encourage more people to plant fruit trees at home. By growing your own fruits at home, a person will know that they are eating something that is pure. It will also cut on the expenses of having to buy it. Planting at home also helps to increase the production of the said fruit on a national level, among other benefits," said Govinden.
He said most buyers who come to the centre look to acquire citrus fruit trees, and the centre was running low on this type of fruit tree when SNA passed by.
On sale were soursop, golden apple, passion fruit, different varieties of mango and papaya among others. With a 25 percent discount, the plants were selling between SCR18 ($1.35) and SCR110 ($8.29).
"At the research centre, we sell a lot of fruit plants and we have noticed that since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, there has been an increase in the number of people who are buying plants to grow at home. I think that there is more awareness around the fact that our food security depends on us and what we produce locally. Everyone realised that we cannot always depend on importation so as to bring about this security. Each and every one of us can play a role. It is enough to be auto-sufficient at home," said Govinden.