Tech, innovation key to getting people to grow food

The theme for last weekend’s Agri-Investment Forum and Expo held in Port of Spain at the Queen’s Park Savannah – “transforming agriculture through innovation and investment,” was not lost on exhibitors, as many displayed new innovations and technology that caught the eye of a wide range of people – from the small home gardener to the large scale produce farmer, to even Caricom leaders.

Large companies like FT Farfan and Massy Machinery, and smaller ones, such as solar and hydroponic farming service provider, Ariaponics, told Business Day the event provided opportunities to educate and network with thousands of interested people.

Alex Jones, manager of Ariaponics, a family-owned agriculture business specialising in solar-powered greenhouses and hydroponics, was blown away by the level of exposure that the company was able to get from the expo.

“We had our Prime Minister, the Prime Minister of Barbados, the President of Guyana and other dignitaries at our greenhouse,” he said. “There were also tens of thousands of participants and visitors that came from TT and other countries who showed interest in our services.

“We were always talking about hydroponics and greenhouses with people coming in. It was never a dull moment.”

Dillon Abraham, construction and agricultural equipment brand manager at Massy Machinery said although their brands were established in the farming community because of its tractors, they were able to show people who did not know it was involved in farming equipment and machinery.

“There was a large cross-section of people who really had no clue Massy itself was involved in the machinery business,” Abraham said. “Obviously our Caterpillar brand is well-known, but not so much our agricultural department.”

“In terms of really growing the awareness to new customers, I thought the reception was really good.”

Abraham said it was a great opportunity for all companies involved to raise awareness about the products and services available to farmers and gardeners.

One product from the FT Farfan product line also piqued the interest of Guyanese President Dr Irfaan Ali. CEO Andrew Crooks said the President was eyeing the company’s Kubota tractors, well known in Japan for its capabilities in rice farming.

“The President just asked if they were in Guyana yet, meaning that if we represented them in Guyana, and I told them not yet,” Crooks said.

FT Farfan’s two booths, the machinery and mechanical booth and another booth, Agri World, which supplies fertilisers, pesticides and other plant health products, also benefited from the exposure of the crowds at the expo.

“Apart from reaching farmers, there were thousands of home gardeners who grew small vegetable crops, ornamental plants as well as top lawns and turf. We were able to have a lot of our samples given out, as well as to have a lot of discussion promoting the Agriworld store. Also, we spoke a lot about our Agriworld Farmers card which gives farmers and gardeners discounts and points,” said Sandra Samnarine, division manager of the Agri, Lawn and Garden Division. “We took a whole list of customers who expressed an interest and we now have to talk to them.”

Ariaponics, FT Farfan and Massy Machinery were among more than 300 businesses and entities that showed off innovative technologies at the expo.

Ariaponics, which was established in 2016, showcased different system designs that could be set up to not only grow traditionally known hydroponic crops, such as kale and lettuce, but also seasoning crops such as chive and celery, and fruiting crops such as tomato, peppers and cucumbers.

Jones said with the right system in place, people could even grow large plants such as bananas and paw paw.

“People think hydroponics is just growing in PVC pipes,” he said. “But we could grow a plant in a hydroponic system in a barrel or in a bucket. Hydroponics is about growing without the use of soil, so with the right mixture of nutrients, once we have something to support the plant, we can grow them in gravel or in coconut fibre.”

The company also displayed its solar-powered systems with significant storage capacity, for places like TT where the legislation prohibits people from connecting to the national grid.

“Our solar-powered greenhouses have large storage capacities for when we charge from solar. It will work wonders in a totally off grid environment.”

FT Farfan’s Samnarine said the technology that garnered the most interest came from its Agriworld booth, such as the molasses triple cal product which provides calcium and magnesium for crops and sweetens the soil so that crops can absorb nutrients faster.

“We also had our Black Gold fertilisers. This is a new brand and we have about five or six products. Just put one application every three to four weeks and irrigate and your plants and they get everything they need. We also had a premium water soluble hydroponic greenhouse range.”

People were also interested in their tractors, including brands from Japan, Germany and also smaller less expensive equipment

“We had two Kobuta models on display, as well as a third one which was arranged to drive around the facility. We also had another German brand – Claas. We had a 97 horsepower tractor there together with implements including brush cutters, ploughs and rotary tillers.”

“We also took the opportunity to launch Grillo which is an Italian-made, two-wheel walk behind tractor with multiple pieces of equipment. This was a big hit with a lot of people realising they could get something like a tractor within their price range,” Samnarine said.

She added that FT Farfan also had on display its range of hand-held battery-powered equipment as well as engine oil brands which protected tractor engines and other farming equipment.

Abraham said while their tractor brands were popular, the piece of equipment that got the most attention were the Rotavators, an attachment for tractors that tills the soil, and the crop planters which automatically plants seeds on a large scale.

“The reception on that piece of equipment was great in terms of the awareness and how the equipment looked. A few people who knew what they were talking about inspected it and we got some good reviews on it.”

Many of the products, though expensive, are still available through grants and assistance from the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB). Businesses through public private partnerships also help guide farmers and gardeners through the process as part of their service.

Jones said the range of products, from the hydroponic system to the solar-powered greenhouses would cost more than $100,000 to have set up, however, Ariaponics, as part of its service also educates farmers and gardeners on loan facilities through the ADB, as well as the multiple grants and support mechanisms that the government has for farmers.

“The government from the Ministry of Agriculture has a grant of up to $100,000 to facilitate the building of a greenhouse. These are called agro-incentive grants,” Jones said. “Then there are a lot of grants that come out from the Ministry of Trade and Industry for things like agro-processing and farming – up to $250,000 in grants.”

“Also there are things like seed grants from the Ministry of Social Development, and you want to do our backyard hydroponic system, you can access to $15,000 to set that up. So there are grants in place that can help farmers to get set up,”

“What we usually do is encourage everyone to go to the ADB,” said Massy Machinery’s Abraham. “That way they can get access to a 50 per cent subsidy on all agricultural equipment as well as up to 50,000 back on tractors.”

And Samnarine said, “This forum presented a lot of opportunities through Republic Bank, the ADB and other investment opportunities that would make technology on machinery available to farmers on the ground, and I think that was a great thing.”