Minister of Food Production, Land and Marine Affairs Vasant Bharath says 123 farmers have been granted leases. Included in this number were 71 given to Aranguez farmers. Bharath said so during a press conference yesterday at the Ministry of Agriculture, Serpentine Road, St Clair. Among those present were stakeholders, including Dhanoo Sookoo, president of the Agricultural Society of Trinidad and Tobago (ASTT) and Terrence Haywood, president of the National Food Crop Farmers' Association. The briefing also was intended to address major issues like food prices, water management and land tenure. Bharath outlined snapshots of his short and long-term vision for agriculture, which he felt "should be organised so it could be run as a business." The minister emphasised land tenure was chief among the ministry's concerns in addressing farmers' welfare.
He said: "In the last three weeks, 123 farmers have been regularised in the last three months. Seventy one leases have been granted in the area of Aranguez. "It will help in addressing problems with issues of titles and regulating farmers on a daily basis. They will be able to access incentives. One of the priorities must be regulation of farmers." At times, farmers encountered problems inheriting property that has been bequeathed to them by their parents. Again, Bharath said regularising land tenure would assist–via short-term letters of comfort. He also promised certificates of comfort would be distributed to farmers in order to access loans.
"For too long, farmers have been having trouble accessing lands passed on to them... especially if their parents have passed away. It takes time to get documents," he said. "Meanwhile, a letter of comfort would allow the farmer to go to the Agricultural Development Bank," added Bharath. On a practical scale, letters of comfort and regularisation of tenure would beef up farmers' ability to buy equipment, machinery and vehicle parts. Even as farmers upgrade their methods of irrigation, Bharath said, technology–via computers–would significantly improve the waiting period. Bharath made reference to Works and Transport Minister Jack Warner's announcement that $30 million would be devoted to mitigating flooding. "But there is need to do a more exhaustive job. The need for water management," he said.