Le Premier ministre, Navin Ramgoolam, a rendu un vibrant hommage aux pionniers de la Faculté d’Agriculture à l’occasion du 100e anniversaire de sa création.
Le collège de l’agriculture qui est devenu plus tard la faculté d’Agriculture a joué un rôle vital pour le développement de l’agriculture à Maurice, a-t-il ajouté. Intervenant, lundi, à l’Auditorium Octave Wiehe à Réduit, le Premier ministre a souligné que l’agriculture est le premier pilier de l’économie de ces dix dernières années. “Aujourd’hui, cette cérémonie se tient dans cet auditorium qui porte le nom de Octave Wiehe. Ce dernier était luimême un lauréat du collège de l’Agriculture en 1930. En sa qualité de directeur du Mauritius Sugar Industries Research Institute, ce dernier avait donné une nouvelle direction à l’Université de Maurice", a-t-il précisé.
Il a profité de l’occasion pour saluer les éminentes personnalités qui ont contribué au développement de l’Université de Maurice telles que le Pr Edward Lim Fat, Robert Antoine, Sir Marc David, Rajsoomer Lallah, le Pr Soodursun Jugessur et Michel De Spéville. L’initiative de mettre sur pied un collège de l’Agriculture trouve son origine dans une idée lancée par un groupe de planteurs de Rivière-du-Rempart, Flacq, et Grand-Port. Ce groupe avait soumis un mémoire au comité d’agriculture suggérant la mise sur pied d’une ferme expérimentale.
Le Premier ministre a saisi l’occasion pour dire que l’idée de créer une université de Maurice avait été lancée pour la première fois par Adrien d'Epinay en 1830. Rémy Ollier, était contre ce projet, a-t-il rappelé. En 1949, la législature mauricienne avait rejeté l’idée de créer une université à Maurice. En 1959, le Parti travailliste est revenu avec l’idée de créer une université à Maurice. C’est à ce moment-là que feu sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam avait commandité une étude de faisabilité pour la création d’une université à Maurice. Le comité qui avait travaillé sur le dossier avait conclu que cette celle-ci ne pouvait pas être réalisée.
Malgré une opposition féroce contre ce projet, feu SSR est allé de l’avant avec la création de l’Université de Maurice. “Je l’ai toujours dit. Leadership veut dire une vision à long terme. Cela a pris 135 ans pour créer une université de Maurice. En 2014, il y a toujours des gens qui croient que Rome a été construit en un jour”, a dit le chef du gouvernement. Le chef du gouvernement a profité de l’occasion pour remercier la Mauritius Sugar Producer’s Association pour avoir accordé 2 000 arpents de terres pour développer entre autres le secteur de l’éducation supérieure. 10% de ces terres sont consacrés à la construction de campus universitaires, a souligné le Premier ministre.
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Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam recounted how the School of Agriculture, which subsequently evolved into what is now the Faculty of Agriculture, started in 1914 thanks to the far-sighted vision of some farmers who wanted to create an experimental farm. (Image: Cecilia Samoisi)
Mauritius has entered the annals of a handful of countries across the world that have provided training at a tertiary level in agriculture for as long as a century.
The University of Mauritius (UoM) proudly celebrated a 100 years of the Faculty of Agriculture yesterday, October 13, 2014, at the Paul Octave Wiehe Auditorium in Reduit, in the presence of Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam.
The event, which was celebrated in front of several prestigious guests, also served as an occasion to launch a booklet entitled ‘School of Agriculture: 100 years for the nation- 1914-2014,’ produced by numerous collaborators such as alumni students and lecturers from the Faculty of Agriculture.
Vice chairman of the UoM Council, Jean Claude Autrey, who delivered the opening speech, said that it is a source of great pride for Mauritius to be among the very few countries that have provided training at the tertiary level in agriculture continuously for a century.
“The School of Agriculture of 1914, and the institutions which were created over the years, have played a major role in the successful development of not only our agriculture, but also our country,” he said.
According to him, “the future is full of promise for the Faculty of Agriculture, which will enhance its reputation further in the coming years by catering to more and more foreign students, and networking with prominent overseas institutions for innovations in training and research.”
He concluded by saying that the Faculty of Agriculture and the University of Mauritius will play their role fully for sustainable agriculture on the island economy, which has laid out the ambition of becoming sustainable within the framework of the Maurice Ile Durable (MID) concept.
For his part, the pro-chancellor and chairman of the UoM Council, Soodursun Jugessur, drew focus on the sustainability of the island economy.
“Today the survival of our race, and especially of the generations to come, depends on actions we take in terms of education, research and promotion of innovative initiatives and practices in areas that matter for survival,” he stated.
“It is high time for us to move to what is known as Climate-Smart Agriculture and reduce our carbon footprints. The future is in our hands, so lets us think global and act local.” he added.
As the guest of honor, Navin Ramgoolam praised the prestigious institute that UoM has become since the father of the nation, Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, struggled to make his long term vision for the island, a concrete reality.
He also recounted how the School of Agriculture started in 1914 thanks to the far-sighted vision of some farmers who wanted to create an experimental farm.
According to him, the University has played an efficient role in the development of Mauritius thus far, to enable the island to become a sustainable economy.
“Many countries have shown us that GDP growth is closely linked to tertiary education. Now, it is our responsibility to provide equal opportunity to all and make the country knowledge driven,” he noted.
In this quest to drive the economy forward, Ramgoolam said that we should be ready to move from the traditional ways of learning and be ready to implement a new program of studies to raise skill levels.
He emphasized that the university should be ready to inculcate in its students a passion for knowledge so as to motivate them to achieve bigger and better things, in line with the economic, social and technological needs of the country.
However, in order to attain this objective, the Prime Minister concluded that he is fully aware of the pressing need to develop the human capital of the country.
- By Cecilia Samoisi and Marie-Lorry Coret
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