Agri Expo attendees: A learning experience

KRISTEN-LE CHELLE WINCHESTER

GOVERNMENT officials, students, local farmers, vendors and young and old consumers congregated at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain, to relish in food and drink from the bustling exhibitor booths and vibrant farmers’ market at the TT Agri Expo 2024.

On August 16, the three-day event kicked off with a ribbon-cutting ceremony by Prime Minister Keith Rowley, with Agriculture Minister Kazim Hosein, Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries Avinash Singh and primary school students standing cheerfully at his side.

This year’s theme “Farm to Table: Revolutionising the Local Food Supply Chain” was aimed to highlight the importance of local food production and consumption for economic growth and food security.

With over 400 exhibitors, the expo was set to connect the public to those immersed in the agricultural market in TT. It was also used as a medium to engage and empower aspiring entrepreneurs with the knowledge and tools to succeed in the agricultural space.

Cutting-edge climate technologies, tractors, heavy machinery and the latest agricultural equipment were displayed which fostered interactive learning experiences about farming.

A large tent labelled the Heliconia Haven, housed booths that showcased natural oat and almond milks, home-made and rum-infused dark chocolates, sweet potato rum punches, pineapple and mango chows, home-made alcoholic wines, fried-foods drizzled with Swiss Mambo sauce, juices for gut health and much more. Droves of people crowded the front of

the booths to taste local foods and drinks.

Outside, at the farmers market, the “Grow what you Eat. Eat what you Grow” mantra stood on one of the exhibitor tables where eggplants, coconuts and young tomato, pimento and red stem bhagi plants were displayed. Home-grown bananas, cassava, tomatoes, paw-paw and watermelons with locally sourced nuts were in full display for purchase by interested customers.

The youngest exhibitor, Lina of Lina’s Free Range Eggs, expressed her excitement at the expo for the opportunity to educate the public about her business. She said it is important to investing in local agricultural entrepreneurs by giving them a public platform.

The ten-year-old Moruga girl said, “For people who actually have small businesses, it’s really hard to get your name out there. I think this (expo) really gives them that boost to do what they have to do.”

She encouraged young farmers to immerse themselves in the agricultural sector.

“Young people need to go into farming because most of the stuff that we have here in Trinidad are stuff that we import. I think we need to have more farmers here so we don’t have to import.”

Another exhibitor, Farm and Function, said it is proud to be Trinidad’s first farmer-grown, locally processed and regionally exported frozen fruit brand. The representative from the frozen fruit brand boasted about its large network of locally sourced talent. He said the expo provided exposure for the business and it encouraged other aspiring farmers to join the agricultural network.

“Agriculture is the backbone of our life. We need it to prosper and to survive. This is what brings real value to a country. If we support agriculture in a real way, agriculture will always support us back.”

A woman, who asked to be named as Kate, saw the expo as a learning experience about the agricultural market.

“I have learned that manufacturing in this country is accepted worldwide and it has also encouraged a lot of people to get into different types of businesses. I have seen a lot of small and medium businesses that I did not know about before.”

She added, “I was able to buy chocolates and so many other things. It (expo) has been beneficial to many businesses.

The 2024 Agri Expo will come to close on August 18 at 10 pm.