Acting permanent secretary: Cocoa a top priority for Government

The growth and sustainability of the local cocoa industry is high on the list of priorities for new Agriculture Minister Kazim Hosein.

So said the ministry's acting permanent secretary Susan Shurland when she addressed a virtual meeting with members of the Parliament's State Enterprises Committee and members of the Cocoa Development Company of Trinidad and Tobago Ltd (CDC), on Monday.

At the start of the meeting, company chairman Jacqueline Rawlins said, "The CDC is facing severe financial difficulties and we are greatly understaffed. This present level of operation is untenable and it is unsustainable, and it cannot continue beyond this financial year."

Later in the meeting, Shurland said a Cabinet note which dealt with issues raised by Rawlins is being prepared. These included the approval of a strategic plan for CDC and filling vacant posts in the company.

She reminded participants that Hosein has been in the ministry for approximately a week and a half, since being appointed on March 16. Hosein replaced Clarence Rambharat as agriculture minister on that day, following Rambharat's resignation.

Shurland also said Hosein is seeking to meet with various agriculture stakeholders as soon as possible and was recently given a list of priority meetings.

"CDC is at the top of that list."

CDC, Shurland continued, currently receives monthly subventions from the ministry to meet expenses such as payment of salaries. These subventions amount to $2 million a year.

She said consideration is being given to at least $1 million in development funding for CDC and looking at the agriculture stimulus package mentioned by Finance Minister Colm Imbert in his 2021/2022 budget presentation on October 4, 2021 to see if any funding for CDC could be obtained from there.

"I think the future looks bright for this company."

Committee chairman Independent Senator Anthony Vieira shared the respective concerns and optimism of Rawlins and Shurland for the future of cocoa. He opined that most people in TT do not know "we have a real history with cocoa in this country and an unbeatable competitive edge."

Vieira said TT has the fortunate circumstance of having the right cocoa strains, soil type and climate for a thriving industry. Drawing on his experience in intellectual property law, Vieira said the certification mark which identifies cocoa from TT as fine or flavoured cooca is nothing to sneeze at,

"That certification mark is a big deal in intellectual property law."

Despite CDC's financial and staff challenges as well as external factors such as witchbroom disease, which can affect cocoa trees, Vieira said, "We need to go beyond the low-hanging fruit of just exporting beans to develop the whole cocoa value chain."

To support his argument, Vieira displayed a bottle of cocoa liqueur from Italy and said TT should be looking at making products such as these. He suggested that through eco-tourism, cocoa estates in Central Trinidad and along the North Coast could be resurrected.

He observed that at Belmont Estate in Grenada, tourists are able to come and see a live cocoa-bean dance.

Rawlins told Vieira that CDC has been looking at initiatives along this line.

Referring to Rawlins's earlier comments about a strategic plan not being approved, Couva South MP Rudranath Indarsingh claimed this reflected a "lack of direction from a government for the last seven years."

Government Senator Laurel Lezama Lee Sing cautioned Indarsingh on his comments, saying Indarsingh was putting policy questions to the CDC which its members could not answer.

"I would like him to refocus his questions to the matters at hand. He is going down a very, very dangerous political road."