IT is without a doubt that agriculture is critical to food security and sustainability, especially now that countries worldwide are struggling to survive a pandemic.
TT is by no means exempt from this situation, as it too has put in place plans to decrease its food import bill and promote local agriculture.
With the 2021/2022 budget set for October 4, the public is anxiously awaiting the allocations for the various sectors.
Last year Finance Minister Colm Imbert presented another budget with a deficit – $16.772 billion. This was based on an oil price of US$45 per barrel and a gas price of US$3 per metric million British thermal unit (MMBtu).
Of the $56.8 billion, the agriculture sector was allocated $1.198 billion, with an additional $500 million agricultural stimulus package. In his budget presentation on October 5, 2020, Imbert told Parliament the allocation would account for an increase of 70 per cent for the sector.
He also proposed a tax-free industry in which taxes and duties on all inputs and resources registered for agricultural purposes would be removed to encourage greater participation.
Issues within the agriculture sector were again addressed in the Roadmap to Recovery and several short-term plans were put forward to reduce imports, which stood at over $4 billion, and to increase productive capacity and accessibility to domestic produce.
In June this year, Minister of Planning and Development Camille Robinson-Regis said the $500 million stimulus package would allow the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries to undertake critical projects in a timely manner.
Added to the list of challenges for the sector has been the impact of climate change, which has caused problems for both produce farmers and livestock farmers. Recent heavy rain has destroyed crops and infrastructure, while livestock farmers have been hit hard by a rise in feed prices.
A combination of factors including the negative effects of the covid19 pandemic – such as increased shipping and an increase in raw material costs – have created rising food prices across the board for consumers.
A 2020 Oxford Business report said, “Agriculture still lags behind other sectors and continues to be overshadowed by the energy-driven economy. However, strides have been taken in the areas of training and farm development.”
CEO of the National Agricultural Marketing and Development Corporation (Namdevco) Nirmala Debysingh-Persad said in an interview with Oxford Business that a co-operative approach was needed to boost production and exploit TT’s agricultural capabilities.
“The most important step for developing agriculture is to apply a commodity approach, which focuses on commercialisation of individual crops, taking into consideration all the agronomic practices, post-harvest technologies and marketing principles for sustainable, economically viable and competitive products,” she said.
Similarly, an Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbea
