financed from a cess on sugar produced and devoted to the develop­ ment of new cane varieties. manufacturing processes and the peri­ pheral disciplines concerend. The research Is very practical oriented and the benefits reaped fast enough for a aalnly private­ ly run research Institution. The aost Important S&T society that has so far endured Is the •Societe de Technologle Agricola et Sucrlere de Maurice•. Engineers are organised In the Council of·Reglstered Professional Engineers (with government recognition} and th-e Engineering Insti­tute of Mauritius conceren~ with the promotion of engineering. The equivalent of a national research council does not exist In Mauritius. A first attempt, In the form of a Research Board, made by the University to group the three maJor S&T Institutions mentioned above was followed by the setting up of" a Research Committee grouping the three Institutions In the wake of a Nation­ al Seminar on Agriculture Diversification 1980. Although long standing Institution~ with their own Independent research commit­ ments, the MoA, MSIRI and UM have had fair success In coordinating their research activities. However, there are thoughts In govern­ ment circles to set up a national research organization to coordi­ nate alI research activities. There exists no Ministry of Science and Technology as yet In Mauritius. TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY Apart from overseas Industrialists Implanting known technolo­ gies In Mauritius to take advantage of the export processing zones, tax Incentives/holidays, and the rela~lvely cheap local labour, a number of local entrepreneurs have managed to Identity commodities and products. that can act as substitutes tor ·the Imported ones. A number of administrative obstacles need to be overcome, the necessary capital raised, an Import permit obtained and, with any luck, a development certificate obtained which carries with It tax holidays for five· years. This "'Ctlvlty 