Standards for manure from farm animal waste in Mauritius

Animal manure serves as an important fertilizer in organic and sustainable soil management. The manure can improve soil quality, boost nutrient uptake in plants, improve water quality and reduce carbon emissions. As food security and crop production gain importance in Mauritius, its hard to underestimate the importance of healthy soil in improving the availability of food and achieving food security. Sustainable agriculture offers an approach that maximizes on the reliance on natural, renewable inputs, such as animal manure, while ensuring long-term environment protection, health benefits and economic viability. The animal manure would need to be properly treated to ensure these benefits. 

In 2018, SWITCH Africa Green supported the Mauritian Government in establishing and operationalizing the Specifications for Treated Farm Animal Manure. The standards were expected to enhance adoption of sustainable agricultural practices as well as empower small and medium enterprises as potential suppliers of safe and healthy food. UNEP formalized cooperation with Mauritius’ Ministry of Environment in 2019, and the funding from SWITCH Africa Green contributed to the development of the standards involving a multi-agency task team, the technical assistance needed to identify the appropriate technology for processing manure so that it complied with the standards, and training and testing of the standards among project beneficiaries. A multi-stakeholders technical working group was set up to carry out the work in a participatory approach. A policy brief to be developed in consultation with the national focal point.