It is an honour and privilege to participate in the wheat harvest
ceremony, wheat that been produced on an
experimental basis for the first time at Petit Merlot. I would like to express
my thanks to the Dairy Farm Cooperative Society Ltd of
Petit Merlot for having kindly accepted to allocate some 3 acres of land for
the purpose. Wheat
(Triticumaestivum)
is among the three top-most produced cereal worldwide, together with maize and
rice. In 2012 global annual
production of wheat amounted to about 650-700 million tons. Mauritius is highly
dependent on food imports and is currently importing 80% of its food
requirements; wheat imports amount to around 170000 tonnes annually. STC
supplies the local market with about 100 000 tonnes of flour yearly. At 225 grams per capita, Wheat
Flour remains the main staple food other than rice. Many
thanks to Universal Development Corporation, especially Mr Philippe Levieux for
having kindly accepted to share their storage facilities for the seeds and
their support.To all those who have kindly provided
consumables to be used in the experiment : Pherrich Ltd for supply of
compost and Matikola Ltd for sharing consumables. Thanking Mr Benoit Francisque
from DCF Roots Ltd who is already making cereals and other products from manioc
and who kindly accepted to process the wheat grains from last year into flour
and Bread. I hope that this fruitful collaboration among all these stakeholders
continues and that next year we will be able to see some of the potential
applications.
About Me
- Rajesh Jeetah
- Dr Jeetah was elected Member of the National Assembly in December 2003 for the first time for Constituency No.7 (Piton/Rivière du Rempart), and remained so until April 2005. Dr Jeetah was re-elected as: • Member of the National Assembly for Constituency No.11 (Vieux Grand Port-Rose Belle), in 2005 and became Minister of Industry, Small and Medium Enterprises, Commerce & Cooperatives (2005 to 2008).He became Minister of Health & Quality of Life (2008 to 2010). • Member of the National Assembly for Constituency No.10 (Montagne Blanche- GRSE)in 2010 and became Minister of Tertiary Education, Science, Research and Technology till 2014. Education and Qualifications: a. University of Cambridge (2002 -2003) - ACU Research Fellowship b. University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) (1984-1993) • BSc (Hons) – Textile Technology • PhD – Textile Technology