Agricultural entrepreneurs are hopeful of attracting more interest, and investment, in there products coming out of last weekend's Agri-Investment Forum and Expo.
Several exhibitors who had booths at the Queen's Park Savannah, Port of Spain on Sunday are on board with Caricom’s plan to reduce the food import bill by 25 per cent by 2025.
Regina King, founder and CEO of King's Speciality, said, “Just seeing all these people coming out to see what TT and the Caribbean has to offer, generally enjoying, tasting, hearing them say they never knew TT had this amount of creativity – that we don’t lack talent – that was the greatest part of it.”
King has been involved in producing aromatic liqueurs made from local vegetables, spices and fruits, influenced by her mother and grandmother.
“This has been such a wonderful experience," she said.
Florence Murray-Joseph, founder of Flo Joe’s in Diego Martin, is a pigeon peas connoisseur, experimenting with the legume to churn out a line of healthy products, demonstrating it can be used for more than just pelau.
Pigeon peas are rich in proteins, minerals, vitamins and lipids, and Murray-Joseph has mastered the art of making pigeon peas ice cream, black cakes, rum cakes, bread, muffins, juice drinks, wines, liqueur, punch, pastelles, pizza, doubles, coco pois – an indigenous blend of coo coo with pigeon peas.
[caption id="attachment_971449" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Agriculture Minister Kazim Hosein, centre, and minister in the ministry Avinash Singh chat with exhibitor Regina King of King’s Speciality at the Agri-Investment Forum and Expo, Queen's Park Savannah, Port of Spain. - Yvonne Webb[/caption]
Her innovative products have feared well at the farmers markets at Macoya ad SAPA, but Murray-Joseph said the expo's exposure may have given her the impetus to get her products on grocery shelves, locally and abroad.
A native of St Vincent, Luke George, who is now settled in Arima, has established the agro-processing company Growise Fresh Farms Ltd.
“My business is agro-processing, I make about 12 different products. I also make chocolates,” said George who specialises in grow boxes on wheels, salad packs, soil mix and landscaping.
His main aim, however, is to rehabilitate the banana industry in Trinidad and Tobago using macro-propagation techniques.
“We don’t have to go outside of TT to St Vincent, St Lucia, Grenada, Dominican Republic or Suriname for bananas. We can have a thriving industry right here. I am trying to engage as many farmers as possible in the project to re-establish the banana industry so we can make a dent in the huge import bill of fresh fruits in TT.”
From the resourceful banana, Growise has created new businesses, using every part of the tree and fruit.
“We have created banana fibre, we are making paper out of the banana tree. We have created banana power, banana flour from the green bananas and banana cereals from the ripe fruit,” George said.
Among his speciality products is the "Vincy influenced" callaloo soup pack, which jus
