Shiraz Khan joins agriculture advisory board

One of government's most vocal critics, Shiraz Khan, president of the Trinidad Unified Farmers Association, has agreed to be part of an advisory board to help resolve some of the issues faced in the agricultural sector.

"I want to assure the media and the public that Khan has agreed to be on an advisory team to advise me and other people on what the country needs at this time,” Agriculture, Land and Fisheries Minister Kazim Hosein announced on Saturday.

“We have set a meeting for Monday at 1 pm when I will be advised by the most important people."

Hosein made the comments at Khan’s farm at Carlsen Field, Chaguanas. He visited the farm as part of the Eid-al-Adha which the Muslim community celebrated on Saturday. Over the years, Khan had led several protests nationwide accusing the opposition and government of neglecting the agriculture sector. Last year, he contested the Chaguanas East seat as an independent candidate in the general election, but lost to UNC’s Vandana Mohit.

Even though he is a part of the advisory team, his stance on the government remains the same. Khan told Sunday Newsday that if he is not pleased with any of government’s decisions, he will continue to speak out against them.

Khan added, “I am not here to make friends with anyone. There must be some benefits for farmers. All I can do is live in hope, but I don’t see this going beyond two years.”

At the tour, he discussed the importance of the ministry investing more revenue into all aspects of the farming industry. Khan has been a livestock farmer for over 40 years. He has been a vocal advocate in explaining the benefits of the government getting more involved in the agricultural sector. Standing next to Hosein, Khan did not hesitate to give his opinions on the current state of agriculture and urged people to support local producers. He also called for “good sense” to prevail.

"It has been a difficult time for many of us in agriculture for the past 25 to 30 years, from praedial larceny, to lack of support and co-operation from the ministry and other institutions,” Khan said.

“It is not farmer-friendly at this time, and we are hoping with the global situations like global warming, the war between Ukraine and Russia and the covid19 pandemic, we could produce majority of what we eat in TT."

Khan is confident that if the ministry focuses more attention, resources and funds onto local farmers, the country’s import bill can be drastically decreased. Farmers, he said, as well as the entire country would benefit. He said his requests for betterment in the sector is not new as he has been trying since 2007 to boost the agriculture sector.

Hosein promised to work hand-in-hand with all farmers to ensure they receive the necessary support to make TT more self-reliant. He was confident that the country has enough resources to make Khan's visions possible. The minister added that the intent is there and mentioned the Southex agricultural expo.

This expo takes place from August 3 and 7 at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba, on the outskirts of San Fernando. Hosein recalled that he met with Guyana's vice president and Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha on June 30 at President's House, Georgetown, Guyana, and discussed agriculture and agro-processing techniques.

He explained that the visit was to ensure new techniques were learned so they can be incorporated into TT's farming sector as they can boost production levels.