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CCNTV6
  • 6 months ago
Farmers are calling on government to meet with them directly so that their needs can be properly addressed.

Bindra Maharaj,President of the Sills farmers support group is urging government to step in.

Tv6's Nicole M Romany has more.
Transcript
00:00President of the SILS Farmers Support Group, Bindra Maharaj, is today appealing to government
00:07to listen to the cries of the farming community. He says the industry is suffering.
00:12Minister Saddam Hussein, to really concentrate on the land tenure issues, leases for farmers,
00:21right? And the senior minister, Mr. Ratiram, Minister Ratiram, to hear us. We want to be heard.
00:28Let us talk. Let us come up. We, the farmers, we know where the flooding, what is happening,
00:35where it is. When a farmer talks to an engineer for the Ministry of Works, they shoot down the
00:40farmer, but we know the problems. We are there when the engineer is not there.
00:45Maharaj tells us the recent adverse weather conditions left several farmers hanging by a
00:52thread, with many crops falling prey to the heavy floods. He says the situation is still bad for
00:59many farmers, and he questions the absence of the Agricultural Society.
01:04Where is the Agricultural Society of Trinidad and Tobago? If you are the recognized farming group,
01:12recognized by parliament, the group that is an act of parliament, where are you? Why are our farmers
01:23suffering right now under flood conditions? Are we not seeing anybody or anybody coming from the ASTT
01:29who is the recognized body to assist our farmers? Maharaj says this country has the potential to do so
01:37much with its crops, but support and investment are needed. He made reference to our Sugarloaf
01:44pineapple, calling it the best in the Western Hemisphere. Why don't we get the private sector
01:51involved in the agro-processing of pineapple to make, as I said the last time, pineapple juice,
01:59pineapple side slices, junks, whatever have you. Everything that we can do with pineapple,
02:05let us do it, can it, and export. That is a sure way of getting the foreign exchange back in.
02:12Meanwhile, Debedin Manik, President of the Felicity Food Crop Farmers Association,
02:18tells TV6 the best way to move forward is through the adoption of a farmers-centered approach.
02:25We have a serious problem with water availability, water source, and the quality of water that we use
02:32to irrigate the farm industry. I am here to talk about solutions, Marlon, and possible solutions.
02:39What we require is that during the rainy season, we need to harvest this water, the water, into ponds,
02:47in large ponds. And once we have these here, they could be used in the dry season, and we can irrigate
02:53and give the farmers in the water so they'll be able to produce year-round. And that is a burning issue.
02:58Nicole M. Romani, TV6 News.
03:03So here is remote.
03:05I am leaving.
03:07So my family is in the water, I am leaving, and I am leaving.
03:16Again, I am leaving.
03:18I will leave in the water.
03:20I am leaving.
03:22Now I will be leaving.
03:23So I will leave in the water.
03:25Now I will think,
03:26I am leaving.
03:27So,
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