The Trinidad & Tobago Business Guide (TTBG, 2009-10)

AGRICULTURE
Nowhere to go but up
There is huge potential for agriculture, and an urgent need
for higher food production and better support for producers.
There is no shortage of plans. But can agriculture’s long
decline really be reversed? By Wendy Lee Yuen
With its warm tropical climate, arable land
and abundant supply of rainfall, Trinidad
and Tobago should be a major agricultural
producer. But it has not yet optimised its
potential.
Production
Trinidad and Tobago’s 20,000 farmers, most
of them on small acreages, grow cocoa,
citrus, rice, coconuts, bananas, poultry, fresh
vegetables and root crops. Some 55 different
Table 28 Agricultural commodities production 2002-2007
commodities are grown and marketed
locally. Cabbage, tomato, cucumber,
pumpkin and hot peppers are the most
important vegetables, the latter two being
the most popular export crops. Cassava and
sweet potato are the main root crops, though
production tends to be inconsistent and
prices fluctuate with supply levels. Bananas,
pineapple, pawpaw, watermelon and citrus
are available year round, though more
plentifully at some times than at others.
SUGAR (000 TONNES) COCOA (000 KG) COFFEE (000 KG)
2002 142.9 1721.7 246.5
2003 83.9 912.0 586.3
2004 84.5 1320.7 109.0
2005 88.6 896.2 2131.8
2006 80.0 540.1 138.9
2007 66.7 639.2 249.5
Source: Central Bank
Livestock
Livestock production is not as extensive
as crop production. However, Trinidad
and Tobago is self-sufficient in poultry
production, and even enjoys surplus farm
capacity—though, because of phytosanitary
and trade regulations, it has not been able
to capitalise on exports. Production costs are
significantly affected by the global prices of
corn and soya bean, since all animal feeds
are imported, as well as 90 per cent of the
hatching eggs.
Costs have also been adversely affected
by higher energy prices, which have pushed
up transportation and packaging/processing
expenses.
Domestic pork production has declined
significantly; local demand is met by imports
from the US. Beef, dairy and small ruminants
are not produced extensively. There are obvious
opportunities in expanding local production
of both livestock and animal feeds.
Fisheries
In the fisheries sub-sector, there has been a
trend towards importing certain species to
meet local demand, and the government
has identified fish and fish processing as a
targeted industry for diversification of the
economy away from its over-dependence on
oil and gas.
However, the fisheries division of the
Ministry of Agriculture, Lands and Marine
Resources reports over-exploitation of several
species, particularly from the inshore coastal
environment. This has been attributed to
destruction of wetlands; degradation of
marine habitats and ecosystems; pollution;
data collection limitations; and inadequate
monitoring mechanisms.
To capitalise on opportunities in the
fisheries sector, more stringent regulation of
catches will be needed, especially in relation
to gill net size, trawler operations and closed
seasons for the protection of breeding species.
Nevertheless, given the abundance of rainfall
and the expanse of suitable clay soils, there
are enormous opportunities for aquaculture,
09/10 TTBG 69