Wednesday, August 29 2012

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Shiraz Khan...

FARMERS at Sugrim Trace in Endeavour, Central Trinidad on Monday counted their losses after several acres of crops were bulldozed to make way for a dual carriage-way. A farmer said he lost 500 paw paw trees, hundreds of eddoes and one farmer lost three acres of sweet potato and seven acres of pumpkin.

Co-ordinator of the Trinidad Unified Farmers Association (TUFA) Shiraz Khan said farmers were told that the dual carriage-way was to facilitate the construction of the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT). He said farmers were seeking answers because they were promised that area was safe to plant.

Shiraz said that Food Production Minister Devant Maharaj was “totally unaware” of this development and is himself also seeking answers. Efforts by Newsday to get a comment from Minister Vasant Bharath on the bulldozing of the crops, proved futile as all calls to his cellular phone went unanswered.

“Even the Food Production Minister, Mr Vasant Bharath does not know what has happened. The minister said that he will speak with Tertiary Education Minister Fazal Karim to find out what went on,” Khan said.

Khan lamented that such an action is taking place in this country especially given the current issue of high food prices and uncertainty in terms of national food security and availability.

“How can something like this happen at a time when the world is experiencing a food crisis and the country is already feeling the pinch? It’s as if nobody seems to care,” he said.

Khan warned that if farmers are not satisfied with Government’s response to the issue they will mobilise themselves and protest in front of whichever ministry is found responsible for the destruction of the crops.