Mauritius Cancer Crisis: Don't Blame Farmers Alone, Says Agriculture Expert

Cancer has become what one Mauritian agriculture expert calls "a real problem" in Mauritius — but the conversation around its causes is dangerously narrow, he argues. Amarjeet Beegoo, a farmer, beekeeper, and agriculture consultant, has spoken out against what he sees as a growing tendency to pin the blame for cancer rates in Mauritius squarely on pesticide use in farming — and by extension, on farmers themselves. "You can't put everything on the backs of farmers," Beegoo told ION News. He is calling instead for a "holistic" approach that examines the full range of environmental, dietary, and lifestyle factors that contribute to cancer. **The Pesticide Debate in Mauritius** Pesticides have come under increasing public and political scrutiny in Mauritius, with concerns growing over their potential role in rising cancer rates on the island. Politicians, Beegoo says, have been drawn to the issue partly because it is visible and easy to communicate — what economists call "salience bias," the tendency to focus on the most obvious element of a problem rather than its full complexity. While he does not dismiss the risks of pesticides, Beegoo points out that farmers are themselves among the people most directly exposed to agricultural chemicals — making them victims of the problem, not just its cause. **A Weakened Regulator** One of Beegoo's sharpest criticisms is directed at the government's decision to reduce staffing at the Pesticides Regulatory Office (PRO), the Mauritian body responsible for overseeing the safe use and registration of agricultural chemicals. "The government is sending the wrong signal," he said. Cutting the capacity of the very agency meant to regulate pesticide use, he argues, undermines public health while simultaneously blaming farmers for poor practices that go unchecked. **Broken Promises on Food Safety** Beegoo also raises concerns about stalled government commitments on food safety. He points to two specific failures: the absence of a functioning traceability system for locally grown food crops, which would allow authorities and consumers to track where produce comes from and how it was grown; and the delay in drafting a promised Food and Nutrition Bill, legislation that would set binding standards for what Mauritians eat. Both measures, he argues, are essential tools for addressing the broader public health picture — and both have been left on the shelf. **What This Means** For ordinary Mauritians, this debate matters on multiple levels. Consumers want to know whether the vegetables and fruit they buy at the market are safe. Farmers want to avoid being made the face of a public health crisis they did not create alone. And public health advocates want a government response that matches the scale of the problem. Beegoo's intervention is a reminder that cancer — and the food system more broadly — requires joined-up thinking: stronger regulation, honest data, traceability from farm to table, and legislation that puts nutrition at the heart of national policy. The Council of Ministers has recently announced steps related to this issue, though full details of those measures are still emerging. Source: ION News