Promoting innovation in agribusiness­ in Mauritius

 News on Sunday met Sachin Kulkarni and Deepak Yardi on their farm at Piton du Milieu. The Mauritian adventure of these Indian investors behind Aadicon started in May 2006 when the enterprise was set up with the aim of producing quality biotechnological products and provide consultancy in the area of agro-biotechnology, organic farming and its certification.

Conference on Climate Change for the West of Indian Ocean

About 200 delegates attended an international conference on climate change, the theme was Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region: Solutions to the Crisis”, which was held in Balaclava, Mauritius from 21st – 23rd March 2011.

The delegates – scientists, representatives of regional organisations and the community of affairs and NGOs – are expected from South Africa, Australia, Canada, Comoros, Ethiopia, USA, France, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Norway, The Reunion, United Kingdom, Seychelles, Sweden, Switzerland and Tanzania. The conference is being organised by the Mauritian Oceanography Institute (IOM), the Commission for the Indian Ocean (COI) and Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association and the Secretariat of the Nairobi Convention.

 The objective of the conference is to improve the capacity of countries in the west of the Indian Ocean regarding the planning and implementation of the adaptation and mitigation measures to the effects of climate change on communities and ecosystems. 'The delegates will work out a regional strategy on the impact of climate change in the region, outline a regional plan for the Island states and adopt a declaration on the priority actions for research and the adaptation and mitigation strategy.

Download book of abstracts here

Earth Hour 2011

At 8:30 PM on Saturday 26th March 2011, lights will switch off around the globe for Earth Hour and people will commit to actions that go beyond the hour.

 Click this link to watch a video on the concept of Earth Hour.

The video below is a clip on Hong Kong Earth Hour




With Earth Hour almost upon us, our thoughts are with the people of Japan during this incredibly challenging and sad time for their country.


Reflect on what we YOU are doing to save this vital energy. Do you leave the lights on in the lecture theatres, office etc on when it is not in use. Do we switch off the air con or fan when there are no classes? These are simples actions that we need to think of and put into practice to reduce  energy bills and save the planet. What are you doing to save energy? Think my dear friends and colleagues!!!!!!!!!

Spread the Word

Read more on Earth Hour here

World Water Day - 2011

The international observance of World Water Day is an initiative that grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro. This site started in 2001 as a community space and repository where people can upload their WWD event activities and reports. The theme changes every year for which annual campaign materials can be found at the UN-Water site by clicking the WWD 2011 logo on the right.

This year theme, Water for cities: responding to the urban challenge, aims to spotlight and encourage governments, organizations, communities, and individuals to actively engage in addressing the challenges of urban water management. The Faculty of Engineering of the University of Mauritius organised a seminar today 24 March 2011 to mark this event.Read more

A Call for Stronger Support for Youth Involvement in Agriculture and ICT (Communiqué)

Further to the training in Web 2.0 tools which one of our students, Ms N. Hosenally attended, a communique was issued by the group of participants to increase agricultural development

Nearly 30 of us, young agricultural development workers, emerging researchers and university students, representing 18 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries were engaged in robust debates about agricultural policies and their impact on youth participation in the sector, as well as learning and sharing knowledge about how to use various new media tools to enhance work in the field of agriculture. They participated in the Youth Exchange and Training Workshop on Web 2.0 for Agricultural and Rural Development in Accra, Ghana from March 7 to 11.

In the light of their discussion a series of policy recommendations were made. This can read at the ARDYIS site.

Currimjee Foundation Online Library

The Currimjee Foundation Online Library was launched in September 2010 and offers free access to over 76,000 copyright-cleared books, 3 million articles and an entire reference set complete with dictionary, encyclopedia and thesaurus. The online library will be very useful to students working on their dissertation and from this presentation, students will learn how to make research using the library. Areas covered by the online library include: Art and Architecture, Communication, Economics and Business, Education, History, Law, Literature, Music and Performing Arts, Philosophy, Politics and Government, Psychology, Religion, Science and Technology, Sociology and Anthropology. The website is http://www.questiaschool.com/

Agricultural Job Fair 2011 by Agricultural Society

The Students Union in collaboration with the Agricultural Society is organising an Agricultural Job Fair on Friday 25th March 2011 at the UOM Raised Plaza from 10hr to 15hr30.

The main aims are to provide a platform through which students and companies can interact and foster contacts. Students will be able to get a wider knowledge about the Mauritian Agricultural Sector and the new emerging technologies such as biosecurity, food safety, aquaculture, biotechnology, agricultural engineering and plant protection.

The companies present will be:

• Adicon Biotechnologies
• Meaders Feeds LTD
• Food and Industries Allied ltd
• Innodis Group
• Mauritius Wildlife Foundation
• Agricultural Research and Extension Unit
• Irrigation Authority
• Small Planters Welfare Fund

Latest notification of the online magazine, New Agriculturist

The latest edition of New Agriculturist (2011-2) is now online at www.new-ag.info. With continuing tension in the Middle East, a surge in oil prices is expected to put further pressure on global food prices. The impact that this will have on resource-poor, rural communities has not gone unnoticed. In this edition we focus on some of the initiatives providing the skills and support for women and youth to fulfil their potential as farmers and rural entrepreneurs.

Training in WEB 2.O tools in Ghana - One of our students is following the training

One of our students is following the training in Ghana. Read more below.

The purpose of the "Agriculture, Rural Development and Youth in the Information Society" (ARDYIS) project is to raise youth awareness and improve their capacity on agricultural and rural development issues in ACP countries through ICTs.

In this context a five-day meeting in Ghana – 3 days for an advanced training on web 2.0 for development and 2 days devoted to exchange about challenges of youth in ARD using ICT is being held. Apart from raising capacity of participants, that meeting will support youth networking and will contribute to activity design and implementation.

The Technical Center for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) is organizing, in partnership with the Institute for Scientific and Technological Information (CSIR – INSTI) of Ghana, the Youth Exchange and Training Workshop on Web 2.0 for Agricultural and Rural Development. This workshop which is organized in the framework of the ARDYIS (Agriculture, Rural Development and Youth in the Information Society) project, aims to train selected best participants of the ARDYIS essay contest organized in 2010 in advanced web 2.0 tools and to support networking among youth involved in the project.

One of our students in the BSc (Hons) Agriculture with spp Ag Extension, Ms Nawsheen Hosunally has been selected by CTA to attend the meeting. 

The selection was based on the submission of an essay which was assessed prior to receiving a CTA sponsorship. We congratulate her for being among the best candidates selected and this lso reflects positively on our Faculty.

Open Day at the University - Admission Procedures

The Dean, Assoc Prof Driver, has thanked all the staff for their valuable contribution and support to the success of the event. There was a positive press coverage on our Faculty and the programmes on offer in Le Mauricien of Friday. Mr Navin Boodia explained the rationale behind our academic offering for 2011: innovation, relevance, close cooperation with the stakeholders and the tracer studies of our graduates. Read more
Dean