30/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - European Commissioner for Agriculture visits Mayotte. On Monday 29 July, Commissioner Dacian Ciolos, who is visiting Mayotte, invited the Maore agricultural sector to focus on a number of priorities to be able to take full benefit from the European aid to which the island will be entitled from 2014. This French department in the Indian Ocean will have access to EU aid funding when, from 1 January 2014, it will be classified as an EU Outermost Region (OR). Martinique, Guadeloupe, Guyana and Réunion already enjoy from this status. The island will benefit from support provided in the Programme of Options Specifically Relating to Remoteness and Insularity (POSEI). The Commissioner stated that, “in this context, I have come to better understand the specific situation of the agriculture sector on the island, as well as its potential and how to make these European financial instruments more useful”. Fishing and farming (fruit and vegetables) are main sectors in the Maore economy, which also produces flowers and perfumed, aromatic and medicinal plants. (LC/transl.fl)