IICA and Trinidad and Tobago to search for ways to make farmers more productive

San Jose, Costa Rica, July 28, 2011 (IICA). The main objectives of the visit of the Minister of Food Production, Land and Marine Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago, Vasant Bharath, to the Headquarters of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), in Costa Rica, was to find ways to make his country’s agricultural sector more efficient and share initiatives of consumption of national products among the population.

During a meeting with Institute authorities, he stated that it is necessary to create more job opportunities in agriculture for young people, and to reduce food imports as a means of ensuring food security and stabilizing the cost of living for the people of his country, who have been impacted negatively by rising food prices at the international level.

Some 80% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Trinidad and Tobago is linked to exports of oil and natural gas, according to the Minister. For this reason, his Government is interested in diversification of its economic base in order to reduce its dependence on a single industry and, at the same time encourage the development of other activities such as agriculture.

The Director General of IICA, Victor M. Villalobos, agreed with Bharath’s comments and stated that, Trinidad and Tobago and other Caribbean nations will benefit from the technical cooperation provided in two projects approved under the General Directorate’s Competitive Fund for Technical Cooperation Projects.

These projects are aimed at making farmers engaged in small ruminant production more competitive, and at transferring technology that will add value to the processing of roots and tubers.

In the case of the small ruminant farmers, two objectives are being sought: to provide them with better management practices and to promote the implementation of more up-to-date nutritional standards on their farms.

Villalobos said “The visit of the Minister provides an opportunity to identify areas in which Trinidad and Tobago and IICA can work together in the Caribbean, thanks to the leadership this country has shown in the region.”

With Bharath during the two-day visit were the IICA Representative in Trinidad and Tobago, Gregg Rawlins, and the Trinidadian Ambassador to Costa Rica, Sandra Honore.

In the discussions, Villalobos was accompanied by the Directors of Technical Cooperation and of Management and Regional Integration, James French and Victor del Angel, respectively, and the Management Coordinator for the Caribbean, Ena Harvey.

The delegation from Trinidad and Tobago met with the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Farming of Costa Rica, Gloria Abraham, and took a field trip to two private-sector organizations: Dos Pinos and Adapex.

Dos Pinos is one of the largest cooperatives in Central America and specializes in the processing of dairy products for the national and international markets. Adapex is an association of mini-vegetable growers, with point of sale throughout the country.

“Agriculture in Costa Rica is more efficient than in Trinidad and Tobago despite the fact that, in my country, the cost of energy is lower and farmers benefit from economic incentives from the State, it seems to me that the drive of the private sector and the dynamic nature of the marketing channels in Costa Rica allow for that level of development,” said Bharath at the end of the tour.

At the close of the visit, Minister Bharath and the Director General of IICA agreed to draw up a joint work plan.

For further information: 
victor.delangel@iica.int
ena.harvey@iica.int