§ Mr. Rileyasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the irrigation works in the northern part of Mauritius, mentioned in paragraph 41 of the Report on Mauritius Sugar Industry, 1929 (Cmd. 3518), have been carried out; whether the crops planted are being used for home or export consumption; and what crops are being produced.
§ Colonel StanleyUp to 1931, Rs. 7,000,000 have been spent on irrigation works in this area. The work was then postponed for reasons of economy and because there was not sufficient prospect of the completed scheme proving financially self-supporting. The completion of the work was reconsidered shortly before the war with a view specially to increases in local production of foodstuffs, but no action was taken owing to uncertainty whether the water would be purchased, whether the work could be completed at reasonable cost, and whether suitable food crops could be grown and marketed. War-time conditions have precluded any further action beyond repair work, but the water already available from the existing works is being used both for export crops, i.e. sugar, and for various food crops produced for local consumption, in particular, maize, manioc and sweet potatoes.