00:00Increasing global conflicts and rising geopolitical tensions have the potential to significantly impact the import of key resources like food
00:09products.
00:10Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Ravi Ratiram says over the last decade the food import bill rose from 5 to
00:187.4 billion dollars.
00:20And while a government cannot control what happens externally, he says it does have the ability to improve the situation
00:29locally.
00:30So while it will always have the fluctuation in global situations out there, you will always have supply chain disruption
00:36like what we saw with the pandemic, what we saw there with COVID.
00:39We're not in control of that. But what we are in control of as a government is how we treat
00:45the situation.
00:46He says earlier this week they launched a program aimed at making TNT more self-sufficient in a few key
00:54products.
00:55Where we rolled out the cultivation, propagation of soy bean, of corn for animal feed and for black eye.
01:04When we look at these three commodities, they contribute significantly because in terms of black eye, it's the number one
01:10legume that is used in the school feeding program.
01:12Over 300,000 kilograms of black eyed peas is imported into the country on an annual basis.
01:19This two-acre Puff of Concept pilot project is going to be expanded after we complete the economic analysis to
01:26understand what it requires.
01:27He says hundreds of millions of dollars are lost on the import of these products annually.
01:33And it's why the government hopes they can reduce some cost by this initiative.
01:38Soya bean oil is one of the highest importer. We're talking about over 300 million in soy bean oil in
01:462022.
01:47Last year we would have seen a significant increase in soybean oil again.
01:50So we are looking at that cultivation because the soybean now don't only contribute to the soybean oil, but it
01:57also will contribute to animal feed.
01:59It is used in animal feed. And so too, the corn, the corn that we would be cultivating there in
02:05the Karine area, it is all going to be used towards having our own animal feed produced here in Trinidad.
02:11He says the government, through his ministry, has been focusing on boosting the agriculture sector by supporting farmers,
02:19something he believes has already redounded to increased production levels, which he says have in turn reduced some commodity prices
02:29locally.
02:30Cindy Raguba, Tika Singh, TV6 News.
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