We must be prepared to defend our fine flavor cocoa producing status’ said Agriculture Minister, Senator the Honourable Clarence Rambharat at the Opening Ceremony of the two-day exhibition, in celebration of World Cocoa and Chocolate Day, hosted by the Cocoa Research Centre of the University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus on Friday 6th October, 2017. (more…)
Coming on the heels of the presentation of the 2017/2018 Budget Statement, Senator the Honourable Clarence Rambharat, Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries outlined his expectation of the National Agricultural Marketing and Development Corporation (NAMDEVCO) in the context of their budget allocation coupled with a renewed vision and focus, saying that NAMDEVCO will ‘continue to operate its wholesale markets, to expand the farmers markets and play the role between farm and table, [that is] going back to ensuring that farmers now meet the global GAP standards; NAMDEVCO plays a very critical role in food safety in the country; and [they also] play an important role in matching farmers with agro-processors’. (more…)
Fishing has always undeniably been a source of survival in the Caribbean region, dating back to the first people, as a means of feeding one’s family initially and also as a commodity used in the early trade days of barter. Today, despite having come a long way from bartering our catch, we are still heavily dependent on the sea for our economic growth and sustainability.
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‘This is a landmark event for the community of Rio Claro. It represents an incredible start or restart for the school, for this community’ said Minister Rambharat as the Rio Claro Learning and Development Centre was launched. (more…)
On Monday 11th September, 2017, the Ministry of Agriculture, working in concert with the Office of the Prime Minister and the Tobago House of Assembly, initiated a Public Awareness Citrus Huanglongbing (HLB) Campaign in Tobago. The campaign will include surveillance operations to determine levels of HLB pathogenicity in the island. Training in new nursery management protocols and best management practices for citrus greening will also be factored into this exercise. (more…)
Codex and food safety systems represent the high point of collaboration amongst Ministries, Ministers and Agencies’ is an important element in agricultural trade’ said Senator the Honourable Clarence Rambharat, Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries to stakeholders on Monday 11th September, 2017 at an event to present the Codex Procedural Manual and Codex Strategic Plan, the result of a Technical Cooperation Project aimed at ‘Strengthening the functioning of the national Codex structure in Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Lucia and Suriname’ at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad, Port of Spain.
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In spite of limited financial resources, Senator the Honourable Clarence Rambharat, Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries assured that ‘the priority will always be the farmers’; this while speaking at a Crate Distribution Ceremony on Saturday 9th September, 2017 at the Ministry’s New Head Office in Chaguanas. (more…)
In today’s world, a whopping one-third of all food produced is wasted. Put simply, for every 3 meals produced, one (1) ends up in the trash. And get this: approximately 805 million people still go hungry every day. If we could save just a quarter of this food, it would be enough to feed all the starving and malnourished people in the world. (more…)
As we approach the end of the financial year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries has taken steps to settle all wages due to National Reforestation workers to the end of September 2017. (more…)
Calling attention to the recent national furor on the issue of poaching, particularly the poaching of the national bird – the Scarlet Ibis – Senator the Honourable Clarence Rambharat, Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries said, ‘I think the country now understands that there is a difference between a hunter and a poacher and the real enemy that we have to deal with are those persons who want to behave in a way that is inconsistent with the law and do not wish to follow the rules and abide by the law’. (more…)
The Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries is today urging fisherfolk to exercise extreme care at sea and take immediate precautions to secure marine assets following this evening’s announcement by the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service (TTMS) that long-period ocean swells are currently affecting the coastlines of the Caribbean region, including Trinidad and Tobago, as a result of Hurricane Irma. (more…)
The Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries is actively taking steps to control and, where possible, eradicate swarms of Moruga Locusts that have formed over parts of Rio Claro since Monday threatening vegetation and crops and causing a nuisance to residents. (more…)
