Cropper
on mega-farms: Do we need Cuba?
By
Gail Alexander
Trinidad Guardian
Port Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com
09 09 07
IS
T&T incapable of implementing the Government’s
mega-farm project in Chaguaramas without Cuban
help?
Raising
the issue in yesterday’s Senate
budget debate, Independent Senator Angela Cropper
asked: “Are we really not able to do this
on our own?”
Cropper
spoke on the eve of today’s departure
for Cuba by Prime Minister Patrick Manning. He
is leading a team to open a T&T trade mission
there.
However,
Cropper said while she had nothing against Cuba
and had only respect for certain areas of
their agri expertise, she wondered if T&T could
not handle the mega-farm project.
She noted Cuba had the political will to deal
with its own sector and to manage the impact of
agri-farming on its environment.
And
while this could be useful to T&T, Cropper
noted that when a group she was involved with in
1974 brought Cuba to T&T for an event, there
had been mixed reaction to it.
Now
T&T has come full circle and has invited
Cuba to assist the farm project, she noted, urging
the Government to implement the necessary action
that could allow T&T to deal with the situation
once and for all.
Cropper
questioned if the mega-farm project for Chaguaramas’ Tucker
Valley had included consideration of possible
pollution of the underground acquifer
in that area by chemicals which would be used on
the farm.
She noted that the acquifer was close to the ground
surface and chemicals from plants on the farm would
be leached off into the acquifer with rainfall.
There are also other potential problems associated
with siting the farm there including possible salt
water intrusion, and whether the water supply to
Carenage and nearby areas supplied by the Chaguaramas
acquifer will be enough for everyone after the
farm comes into being.
As
a result Cropper said it was strange that Tucker
Valley was being used for the farm project in view
of all the potential issues and also since it was
found— in reports— to be suitable for
tourism and recreational use.
“Do reports have any relevance in policy
making?” Cropper asked.
Minister
in the Ministry of Finance Christine Sahadeo,
who replied to some of Cropper’s
queries on the Tucker Valley farm project, did
not answer on the involvement of Cuba.
Cropper
said plans for transformation of T&T’s
overall agri-sector should have preceded the closure
of Caroni (1975) Limited.
Stating
that agriculture is an “ethos” more
than merely a sector, Cropper urged the Government
to consider aspects of its agriculture policy more
intensively since T&T has a legacy of research
in this sector, farming experience by the public
and good resources such as cocoa, pigeon peas,
anthuriums and other means.
She
said T&T had an excellent basis for proper
long-term land use, but she noted that good agricultural
land was being used for housing and industry and
even agricultural projects were being put down
on poor agricultural soil.
Cropper
said land-use plans were very important in a
situation where everything was so inter-connected
as it was “in as small a village of a place
like this (T&T).”
She
added: “ It is imperative we proceed
on a more holistic basis in this small and fragile
place we call home.”
Cropper stressed this adding that the housing
and construction boom had also made it more essential
for careful decisions to be made about land usage.
Cropper questioned why for instance a prison facility
had been earmarked for Caroni land and why agriculture
was only being done on some Caroni land.
PNM Minister Lenny Saith replied that it was found
that not all Caroni land had been suitable for
agriculture.
However, he did not give a reply on the location
of the proposed prison on the Caroni land.
Cropper asked (without getting a reply) if Saith
was also saying that no prison would be sited on
the land. See Page 20
Trinidad
Guardian
Thursday 6th September, 2007
Copyright
©2007 Trinidad
Guardian . All Rights Reserved.
