Rowley: 'I could have been a full-time farmer'

Had he not studied geology and entered politics, the Prime Minister said he would have become a full-time farmer.

Dr Rowley made the admission in a video on Wednesday from his farm in Mason Hall, Tobago, which was posted on his Facebook page.

Rowley traded his suit for a cap and polo jersey as he relaxed on Alma Estate, where he and his siblings were raised and which he bought in 1975.

“This is where we spent our life growing ground provisions, corn, peas, potatoes, dasheen, yam, and raised animals and spent our formative years,” he said proudly. “When this land became available, initially my parents were there as tenants and then in 1975, I purchased it from the original owners.”

He said at that time, the property was largely a cocoa estate.

Rowley said the area, like many other estates in Tobago, has the potential to be used for all kinds of agricultural activity.

“We have good soil. We have good water. We have good rainfall in the rainy season.

“We could do a lot more but we don’t have enough farmers who are really available to do what needs to be done.”

Rowley said farming is one of the avenues through which the economy can be diversified and offers many incentives for people who genuinely want to get involved.

“But, unfortunately...those farmers, like my parents, having passed on, were not replaced by a new generation of farmers.”

He said he would like to see more activity in the area of farming. Between now and 2022, Rowley said, the Government intends to begin some serious training programmes for farmers “so that lands like these can be brought into production.”

He added: “If I wasn’t a geologist, I wasn’t a politician, I would have been a full-time farmer because I genuinely enjoy it, looking after them, planting crops and seeing them grow and getting the rewards of those activities.”

Rowley urged young people to take up farming.

“Because it is lucrative if it is done properly. If it is done properly, it could be a worthwhile endeavour. You can make a good living out of it if you follow the good training programmes and take advantage of the incentives that are available.”

Rowley's visit to his farm came after his meeting with Tobago MPs Shamfa Cudjoe and Ayanna Webster-Roy, PNM Tobago Council political leader Tracy Davidson-Celestine and Chief Secretary Ancil Dennis, on Tuesday, at the PM's official residence in Blenheim.

A post on his Facebook page said discussions focused on “matters relating to the operations of the Government in Tobago.”

It is widely speculated the talks may have centred on the Tobago House of Assembly election, constitutionally due in 2021.

The PNM, which controls ten of the 12 electoral districts in the assembly, is yet to open nominations for the election.

The Progressive Democratic Patriots and the Unity of the People, led by Nickocy Phillips, have already opened nominations for prospective candidates.