“We have lost close to 75 per cent of the crop production in TT.”
That's the claim of president of the Agricultural Society of TT Daryl Rampersad after devastating floods in the past two months drowned acres of crops nationwide.
“Prices are already at an all-time high and for the year of 2022, these prices that are recorded now are some of the highest prices we’ve ever seen in the last 20 years,” he said.
He said vegetables such as tomatoes and sweet peppers around this time would usually be $6 to $10 per pound, but now both items are around $25 per pound on the retail market while celery is being sold at $20 per pound.
“Right now we are hoping we don’t pass that amount currently, we are hoping that the market is going to stabilise and then we are going to see a decrease as production increases going into the dry season. But as it is, the prices we have now are going to be maintained until the end of the year given the availability of the commodity.”
He said this problem goes beyond the farmer as low-income households will also be affected as prices may increase again depending on the situation and there would be a lack of availability in some items.
Rampersad said the society is working on a plan to assist farmers with moving into protected farming.
“We’ve already started formulated a plan and started discussions outside. For example, the European Union, they introduced other methods of protected agriculture in TT, if we are to look at food security and food sustainability in TT, we need to look at how we protect our agriculture we have existing in TT right now, so that’s a step we are going to be taking in 2023, once it comes through. It’s what we are going to be looking at in the near future for food security.”
[caption id="attachment_990363" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Flooding all but destroyed a tomato field at the Orange Grove Estate, Tacarigua on November 6. - Angelo Marcelle[/caption]
He said this plan entails setting up trail houses and above-ground fences in each of the farming areas.
“Using that as an example and a programme called 'Each One, Teach One' we are going to be using those as demos for the rest of the farming community to learn and observe from. Then we are going to have discussions with the ADB (Agricultural Development Bank) and our other partners to bring them on board, making finance available for such a project where it would be more acceptable for the farmers of TT to move into the future of agriculture because we can’t afford to continue absorbing the losses as we have been doing this year.”
Given the widespread losses incurred by farmers owing to floods, Rampersad intends to approach the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Finance to compensate all producing farmers who suffered losses, not only registered farmers.
“We are hoping and we are asking – I just finished preparing a document as it pertains to the incentive programme where we are asking that consideration be given to all farmers in production at this point in time. If any form of compensatio
