The finance minister of Mauritius called for half of domestically grown agricultural goods to be organically grown within the next five years, and put pledged financial support of about US$500 thousand to the effort.

Major agriculture operations on the island, which has a history of commercial sugar production, are skeptical about organic methods, but small scale producers are making it work despite the challenges.

Due to an increase in cancer cases that is popularly believed to be associated with agricultural chemical use, interest in organic foods increased at the local markets.