The Committee on Government Assurances (COGA) of the National Assembly, headed by its Chairperson Hon. Sylvanne Lemiel, conducted site visits to both Desroches Island and Coëtivy Island on Friday 5th May 2023. Accompanying the Chair was the Vice-Chairperson Hon. Norbert Loizeau, Hon. Philip Monthy, Hon. Desheila Bastienne, Hon. Richard Labrosse and Hon. Rocky Uranie. Present to assist the Committee was the Secretary Ms. Thema Joseph, and Assistant Secretaries Mrs. Ghislaine Thelermont and Ms. Linda Gerry. Forming part of the Island Development Company (IDC) delegation that accompanied COGA was the CEO Mr. Glenny Savy, Deputy CEO Mr. Christian Lionnet, Agricultural Project Manager Mr. Justin Moustache, and Public Relations Manager Mr. Michael Govinden. The Island Manager assisting the Committee on Desroches was Ms. Mariza Henriette, and on Coëtivy was Mr. Gilbert Esparon.
The purpose of the visit was to investigate the progress of the various projects pledged by the Vice President Mr. Ahmed Afif and Mr. Savy in the National Assembly on the 5th of October 2021. The two main undertakings that were under investigation were the Agricultural Production project on Desroches and the Shrimp Farming project on Coëtivy.
Desroches Island is an agricultural research hub, where experiments are being conducted on varieties of plants, the results of which have been promising. The outcomes of the trials will eventually be moved and operationalized on Coëtivy, on a much larger scale. COGA were witness to the success of the agricultural operations, as the IDC is now able to supply vegetables and free-range eggs to surrounding hotels. Despite the limited space, the IDC have produced between 300-400 kilograms of tomatoes during humid and rainy periods.
While there have been setbacks in the expansion of this project due to conflicts of interest with farmers and the leasing of farmland, there is still a very promising outlook on the development of larger scale vegetable production infrastructure. The projected timeframe for the IDC’s expansion of production to 200 hectares is 5 years. This expansion is proposed to include a significant divide of space dedicated to the production of animal feed, in order to increase local livestock production.
Coëtivy Island is one dedicated to a mixture of agriculture, aquaculture, and tourism, which will one day have to co-exist. There are ongoing plans for the IDC to begin the cultivation of crops such as vanilla, onions, ginger, and garlic. Alongside this, there are plans to introduce aquaculture to the island which would encompass the farming of shrimp, sea cucumbers, and sea urchins. In December 2021, the IDC began aquaculture trials with shrimp varieties which will continue into 2023, with aims to achieve full-scale production in 2023. Mr. Savy expressed that these plans were well underway and entering the second phase of development. Coëtivy will also be a site of livestock, particularly free-range chickens. Projections have shown that roughly 1000 to 1300 tons of chicken will be produced annually.
