Radhica De Silva
T&T will see record-high prices of produce in the lead-up to Christmas because of the frequent flooding which has been affecting farmers, says Agricultural Society president Daryl Rampersad.
Speaking to Guardian Media following two days of floods which destroyed agricultural crops in Penal, Barrackpore and Woodland, Rampersad said before the recent flooding there was already a shortage of crops on the local market.
This led to produce being sold at exorbitant prices, Rampersad said.
However, he explained: “Based on additional rainfall that we received, the farmers were already absorbing a lot of losses. We already barely had enough produce for sale locally, and now with this latest rainfall from last week to now, it is safe to say that we can expect very, very high prices for this Christmas season here.”
Rampersad said farming had become tedious for many because of the rising cost of production.
“It is rather difficult now because we have to keep rebuilding from point A to point B and as of recently, the farmers have not been making a lot of profit because of these issues,” he added.
Rampersad said apart from the high cost of fertilizers and chemicals, climate change is also a major issue for farmers.
“We now see the need to see to have agriculture in protected controlled agricultural systems and building above-ground pens as it pertains to livestock farming,” he said.