Tableland’s ‘pineapple man’ soldiers on in spite of forex challenges

FOR over 25 years, Lachram Gayah has worked in the pineapple fields and witnessed first-hand the transformation of the local agriculture sector from his grandfather’s time to now.

Gayah specialises in the production of the sugarloaf pineapple, a unique strain of the fruit found exclusively in Trinidad and Tobago, and has been featured in different platforms worldwide including a 2017 episode of Sesame Street.

Speaking with Newsday at his Robert Village, Tableland farm last Wednesday, Gayah, 58, spoke about his decision to enter the pineapple business, his journey in the industry and his next step as an entrepreneur.

A third-generation farmer, Gayah admits he was never drawn to farming as a means of earning a living but changed his mind when he saw the financial returns from his father Sunderlal Gayah.

“I was originally supposed to go to Canada to continue my studies, but my mother convinced me to stay with my father in Trinidad for a year and work with him to see what it was about.

“My dad used to specialise in citrus, cocoa, coffee and bananas. People used to come and buy his bananas very cheap, but when we went to the market that’s when I saw the money agriculture made so I decided to stick around.”

Starting his agricultural career with two acres of leased land, Gayah set out to establish his future as a farmer.

Despite being a relatively new addition to farming, he saw the profitability of his father’s crops were waning in the midst of TT’s housing boom in the 1990s.

At this time when skilled agricultural labour was in short supply, the workers who knew the techniques to prune cocoa trees left the estates for jobs elsewhere, causing Gayah to shift attention from cocoa to pineapples.

After a discussion with other pineapple farmers, Gayah was introduced to the fruit that would change his life forever.

“I could have up to 17,000 trees in an acre, and when I multiplied at $8 or $5 for one, to me that was plenty money.

“So having to sell citrus, cocoa and coffee on a big acreage of land, you could have made the same money on a couple acres of land easily so I decided to experiment and go that route.

After months of hard work, Gayah’s fields flourished and so did his business as he expanded his operations, even assisting with his father’s crops.

He admits the partnership with a veteran farmer like his father took some getting used to as he introduced him to newer techniques of getting the job done.

Referring to his amphibious all-terrain vehicle which he uses to survey his crops and transport goods out of the muddy fields, Gayah said his father was sceptical of buying it at first but eventually saw its effectiveness.

“He saw how quickly and effectively we were able to transport dozens of heads of pineapples at a time out of the fields and onto the road.

“It really cut the workforce in half and that’s when he realised how valuable a piece of equipment it was.”

Gayah hopes one day his children could carry on his legacy of improving on past generation’s work and take his operation to the next level by agro-processing.

Referring to a warehouse he now uses to store his goods and equipment, Gayah said it was originally intended to be an agro-processing unit but the interest faded when he saw the high demand for fresh pineapples.

Today Gayah’s fields expand across 70 acres with pineapples as far as the eye can see behind his family’s home. And while his crops keep ten workers employed, the impact of his crops can be felt throughout the community through his other investments.

In 2007, Gayah built a service centre that does maintenance on his tractor and other vehicles in the area filling a valuable niche in his rural community.

He also built and leased a restaurant and bar.

In more ways than one, Gayah’s pineapples have contributed to the community’s economy directly and indirectly.

Even outside of TT, his pineapples have helped the region.

He recalled an incident in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan in 2005 when he was contacted by officials from the United Nations who asked for his help in supplying short-term crops to Grenada.

“Apparently the official saw my name from the Namdevco listing and got in touch with me.

“The nutmeg, which is one of Grenada’s main agricultural exports, was devastated by the hurricane and has a long period of harvesting. So they were looking for alternative crops for the island.”

Gayah’s assistance included 400,000 pineapple plants to Grenada to assist farmers.

His journey has not been without its fair share of challenges as his business, like all others, are affected by the shortage of foreign exchange. He notes the increase in the price of fertiliser from $50 a bag years ago to $300 today.