00:00Agricultural consultant Riyad Mohamed says he has critically examined the government's
00:062025 manifesto, focusing on its agriculture and food security commitments and their implementation.
00:12He says one of the key targets outlined is a reduction of the country's food import bill
00:18by around $2 billion over a five-year period. However, he notes that while some initiatives
00:24have already been launched and others are in progress, there remain critical areas that require
00:30closer examination. Some questions that pop up when you set that target is, how are you really
00:35going to change the tastes and preferences of the public, the people that actually consume any food
00:40to be imported, right? And then another thing if you look a bit deeper is how can you really convince
00:46buyers that locally produced food is safer to eat than imported food? I mean, these are relevant
00:52technical questions. He also looks at how agriculture is being positioned on the export market.
00:58And then I've seen another target of generating at least $1 billion in agricultural exports when you
01:04focus on crops like cocoa and processed goods. And then you also think about now, yes, amazing target,
01:10but what foreign-earning products and services have we been developing to increase the GDP and as well
01:17as that level of, you know, finance and money.
01:21Mohamed further raises questions about the implementation of agricultural insurance.
01:26You have heard that we want agricultural insurance for the longest while, maybe when you were young.
01:31You understand? And up to today, there has been no solid sign of any financial institution really willing to back
01:40agricultural insurance in Trinidad and Tobago.
01:43And I'm not talking about your medical plan or your pension plan on your own, you know.
01:47I'm talking about safeguarding agricultural crops and livestock and operations.
01:53Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
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