Scores of farmers across the country are reeling from the effects of back-to-back flooding, skyrocketing costs of chemicals and fertilisers with many of them of the verge of giving up.
During a visit to the water-logged fields in Cunupia, Macoya, Orange Grove, Felicity, Cumuto, Chaguaramas and other areas over the past two weeks, the pain of starting over, rooting out bearing crops and mounting debt was evident for many farmers.
The Ministry of Agriculture has been collating claims for compensation owing to flooding at various offices across the country and field officers have been dispatched to verify the claims. But some farmers, those who are registered and have title for the land they occupy, are grateful for the payouts, they say getting back in the fields after suffering such devastation was also an emotional challenge but they have no choice but to dust off and get back at it.
[caption id="attachment_987728" align="alignnone" width="768"] President of the Cumuto Farmers' Association says praedial larceny has left the citrus farmers in his communty under severe threat. - Darren Bahaw[/caption]
At a public consultation, hosted by the National Agricultural Marketing and Development Corporation (Namdevco), at the Macoya market on November 16, which attracted farmers from Valencia, Plum Mitan, Tabaquite, Bon Air, Cunupia and other districts, Agricultural Society president Daryl Rampersad advocated for a bigger wholesale market for farmers to sell their produce.
In response, deputy CEO of Namdevco Rayber Bowen said there were plans to expand the Macoya and Debe wholesale market and establish a farmer's market at Piarco.
Rampersad said over two-thirds of the farmers in TT did not have tenure for the lands on which they farm and not entitled to benefit from any of the subsidies offered by the government nor any compensation for loss of crops from natural disasters such as flooding. He said as chair of an advisory committee to the Minister of Agriculture he had made a proposal for producing farmer, whether they had title to the land or not, should benefit from all the state had to offer and hoped by next year the proposal will be approved.
For Deodath "Pundit" Basdeo, 60, a farmer of the Jerningham Junction Farmers Association, was still counting his losses. Basdeo occupies five two-acre parcels of land given to former Caroni (1975) Ltd workers, and for the last 15 years he has tried crops such as paw paw, bodi, sweet peppers, melongene, patchoi and hot peppers.
There is approximately 500 acres of land available to farmers in the Jerningham district but only one third is occupied. The land is bounded by Bridal Road, the Cunupia River and Assaraf Road, in Charlieville.
Some of the farmers have given up entirely after falling victim to floods, pest disease and praedial larceny.
[caption id="attachment_987727" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Deodath "Pundit" Basdeo makes sure his pacthoi nursery is moist at his plot at Jerningham, Cunupia. -
