Food security is paramount for any nation. If we continue to import our staples then we will always be as risk to the rise and fall of the World market prices as it relates to demand and supply. Not everyone is simply standing on the sideline and watching on as we simply reap the benefits of our natural resources simply to pay a hefty price for food staples imported from the rest of the World.
Indeed flour and rice are staples in Trinidad and Tobago but we can make a dent on the import bill if we really decide to put emphasis where is is most important. I was very disappointed when our government closed Caroni Limited. I was also very disappointed to learn that we have not been supporting the rice farmers to encourage them to produce more. I bet most of you don't know that we still produce rice in Trinidad. The farmers are having issues with the factory that mills the rice paddy to the deliver the rice as we know it. We need to help this industry to decrease our dependancy on imported rice. Yes we will still need to import rice but not in the quantities that we do today - every acre produced locally helps.
Indeed flour and rice are staples in Trinidad and Tobago but we can make a dent on the import bill if we really decide to put emphasis where is is most important. I was very disappointed when our government closed Caroni Limited. I was also very disappointed to learn that we have not been supporting the rice farmers to encourage them to produce more. I bet most of you don't know that we still produce rice in Trinidad. The farmers are having issues with the factory that mills the rice paddy to the deliver the rice as we know it. We need to help this industry to decrease our dependancy on imported rice. Yes we will still need to import rice but not in the quantities that we do today - every acre produced locally helps.
Flour is a staple - we love our dumplins, roti, bake, bread etc. Now why can't we create an industry that produces cassava flour for local consumption? The link to the article above from the Trinidad Express shows that some people have the right ideas but we need state assistance to make it work to the benefit of the nation. Instead of clogging Port of Spain with oil dollar high rises let us instead invest some of the money on food production. Hey and while you are at it what about local fish production? I love Tilapia and that can be produced in ponds to the benefit of the nation.
We need to learn to feed ourselves with local products and cut back on the imports. Indeed we will have to import some items but if we can produce something locally them shouldn't we make every effort to stand on our own? I hope the new government that will soon be installed (PNM or People's Partnership) will focus on food production and hopefully with this also create new markets and fields of employment that will benefit everyone. Until then we can only hope that our oil resources can sustain us until someone or something knows some agricultural sense in the heads of our politicians.