RADHICA DE SILVA
radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
The year 2022 closed with a shortage of local produce and record-high vegetable prices. Over the last two weeks, pumpkins hit a record of $30 per pound, higher than the price of chicken. And tomatoes and sweet peppers stayed at $25 per pound. At the Southern Wholesale Market in Debe, vendors were seen selling imported goods as local good were in short supply. Even though it was the last market day for the year, stalls were empty, and customers were few, leaving vendors to sell below cost price.
Cucumber prices went down by 50 per cent selling for $5 per pound compared to $10 last week.
Produce for sale at the NAMDEVCO Market, Debe, on Thursday.
KRISTIAN DE SILVA
Speaking to Guardian Media, Anushka Boodram whose stalls were almost empty said local goods were in short supply as farmers were hard hit by floods. "Patchoi is probably the only produce that selling cheap right now at $8 per pound," she said. Balliram Birbal said he was disturbed by the continued high prices. "How are people surviving? Imagine regular produce like pumpkin selling so expensive. String beans, cabbage, and tomatoes, it is really expensive."
Vendor Marisa Singh said she had no choice but to sell imported goods. "The foreign cabbage stays longer than the local cabbage which melts quicker. Sometimes the foreign goods are cheaper than the local cabbage," she added.
But customer Petal Khan said local goods were of superior quality. "We prefer to buy local and, sadly, farmers are not getting the support they need," she said.
Meanwhile, Gowtam Maharaj agreed that farmers needed access to farming technology, training as well as better support to stamp out praedial larceny.
Maharaj said land tenure remains a problem for many farmers.
"As simple as a farmers card, there are people who are farming often do not hold title to the land so they cannot get a farmers card and so they cannot access subsidies or go to the bank to get loans," he said. He explained that because of the rising costs of production, many young farmers are unable to continue farming. Maharaj said training of farmers, as well as agricultural officers, should take place consistently. "Currently, there is no sustained training programme that has youths interested. There is a pool less interested in farming. The younger farmers may be interested in contract farming but not enough is being done to help farmers with markets," he added.
"When you look at emerging greenhouse technology, drones for spraying, the farmers are not led to it, so they do have the training to embrace the technology," he said.
Ravina Soogrimsingh of Moruga said not only vendors and customers were feeling the pinch but farmers too. Soogrimsingh said if the costs of fertilisers, weedicides and pesticides were reduced, farmers will be able to sell produce cheaper.
Recently Agriculture Minister Kazim Hosein said he has boosted staff at the Praedial Larceny Squad. He said the disruptions in the global supply chain had affected many people including farmers. Hosein said the Government will continue to work with local and regional partners to further develop the agricultural sector, noting that advice from key partners like UWI and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation was crucial to reducing the food import bill.
Produce for sale at the NAMDEVCO Market, Debe, on Thursday.
KRISTIAN DE SILVA
