Tobago Agri Society wants THA distribution aid

President of the Tobago Agricultural Society Dedan Daniel believes Tobago House of Assembly (THA) must move swiftly to put a food crisis plan in place. Daniel also called for a partnership between farmers and the Division of Food Production to help distribuotion and tackle other issues amid the covid19 pandemic.

Speaking with Newsday on Wednesday, Daniel said the closure of schools, hotels and restaurants is having a damaging effect on farmers who are now struggling to find buyers for their produce.

“As it stands now, a number of the farmers who supply restaurants and hotels and so on really don’t have a market for their produce and in terms of getting it sold through the market facilities, that is posing some challenges,” he said noting that some farmers have to dump produce or give them away having worked for months tending to their fields. He said in the midst of the covid19 pandemic, people’s ability to move around is being stifled.

“It’s good, in a way, that people who need it would get it but in terms of sustaining their income, they would need to meet their obligations. That is creating a problem for farmers. Added to which, the supply chain is also affecting their access to inputs like fertilisers and seeds and so on,” he said.

In terms of the positive impact, Daniel said covid19 has created a huge interest in home gardening.

“We are encouraged by the fact that householders can supplement their supply of food with fresh produce and getting into home gardening,” he said noting that more than 80 per cent of the food consumed on the island is produced in other countries.

He said the global restrictions to combat the pandemic have affected the supply of certain foods.

“That shows the seriousness of the vulnerability that we in Tobago have with regards our nutrition and food security and we need to put things in place to fix the level of food sovereignty on the island.

“We need to probably get a couple mega farms on the island. We know that the topography is a challenge but there are ways and means by which we can utilise these in terms of increasing the portion of the food at this time.”

Daniel said the Society is currently looking at implementing a seedling distribution drive to assist in this undertaking.

“One of the initiatives that (we're) looking to do is to help in the distribution of seedlings to families and home producers. We want to play our role but we, like many non-governmental organisations on the island, do have our challenges in terms of resources. We want a partnership with the THA and the division of agriculture, in particular with regard access to a vehicle that we can do distribution to different places. With the lockdown, the distribution channels are more or less frustrated.”

Curb side markets is one of the initiatives that the Society is encouraging.

“Who doing dasheens, who doing sweet potatoes, plantains, whatever… that they could come together and be able to have curb side markets in the different communities, but transportation is an issue because a lot of our farmer members don’t have the necessary transportation.”

Daniel recalled a few weeks ago THA Chief Secretary Kelvin Charles said he was interested in a meeting with the Tobago Agricultural Society which has yet to materialise.

“I have sent messages to him via WhatsApp calling for that meeting, but that has not happened as yet. We are hoping that it does happen, so that we can chart a way forward.

“We are concerned about the relative silence of the division of agriculture and the secretary at this time. We’re really hoping that the division would work along with the Tobago Agricultural Society and the District Farmers Association towards solving once and for all the vulnerability that we do have with food and nutrition security on the island, and work to decrease that.”