Rambharat praises local farmers for consistency amid covid19

MINISTER of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries Clarence Rambharat has praised local farmers for their consistency and productivity in providing food for the public during a global pandemic. He said while there continued to be “lazy” naysayers of Trinidad and Tobago’s agriculture sector, they should be ignored.

Rambharat was speaking at the Point Fortin Borough Corporation’s grow box distribution at the Fanny Village Recreational Ground on Monday morning.

He said the government, in addition to managing the loss of lives owing to the covid19 pandemic, has “managed to keep our people fed with minimal disruption.”

He said the pandemic proved that many who claimed there is no food security and that “nothing is happening in agriculture” in TT were wrong.

“Those are things lazy people talk about – lazy people who wouldn’t leave their homes. Nobody who has gone on a farm in TT can say we don’t produce food in this country.”

He said those people are “experts of nothing but negative news” and that local farmers have “served us well.

“The fact that our farmers were able to stock municipal and farmers markets and keep fresh produce on the shelves across the country tells us TT can, in fact, produce food to keep itself going.”

He also reminded the public of its own responsibility in reducing the country’s food import bill.

“What you put in your fridge, what you put in your cupboard determines the success of your farmers right here.”

He even commended the opposition MPs posting photos of their “trunks loaded with pumpkin.

“For once, it’s something to eat.”

Point Fortin mayor Saleema McCree Thomas said it was a “proud and gratifying moment” to be able to distribute the grow boxes.

“...As we seek to not only cushion the effects of the pandemic but also to secure our food for tomorrow.

“Did you know when you grow your own food it tastes way better? Other benefits including saving money, guaranteed freshness and food packed with nutrients as you control what goes in what you grow.”

Point Fortin MP Kennedy Richards Jr said the initiative, which provides burgesses with soil, seed packets and the grow boxes, “is something quite exquisite.

“You don’t actually have to go and expend to start off. And if you want to sell the produce and reinvest, that’s something you can also do.

“I’ve always said agriculture, especially in the Southwestern peninsula, has the potential to be the new oil. This is an opportunity for us to become entrepreneurs, to become self-sufficient.”