SHASTRI BOODAN
Cheaper livestock feeds are in the making, says Senator Avinash Singh, Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands and Fisheries.
He gave the assurance on Saturday while delivering the feature address at a Ministry’s function for the inaugural commemoration of The International Day of Plant Health.
Senator Singh said the National Flour Mills (NFM) has partnered with the Ministry via the Aripo Livestock Station to explore a new feed that is going to be on trial for the next three months. He explained the composition of the feed is to determine the protein levels and to bring down the feed price.
“All the farmers are crying out that we need to bring down the feed price and this is one step in the right direction,” he said.
The minister said following the trial period, the data would be shared with livestock farmers.
Senator Singh told Guardian Media the new combination would cost significantly less, but the raw materials for the blend would have to be imported. The minister noted that T&T has the technical capacity to grow feeds locally; however, large acreages on one location are needed for mechanization.
“Most farmers have indicated that they would like to grow some portion of their own feed because most animals are designed to eat grass—forage being the number one feed,” he observed. “Artificial feed or processed feed is supplemental in nature. There is research right now at The UWI where a new grass is being explored.”
He said the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has welcomed a UN decision to establish an annual International Day of Plant Health as a critical issue in addressing global hunger, as plant pests and disease cause massive crop damage that leave millions without enough food.
The minister pointed to FAO estimates that 40 percent of the global food production is lost due to pests and diseases, while climate change and human activities are posing new and urgent challenges for plant health.
Meanwhile, Ruben Robertson, the FAO’s representative to Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname, said plants are important for the survival of mankind. He said human activities—such as squatting and deforestation—have impacted the environment tremendously. He attributed these activities to the spread of disease, reduction of groundwater reserves, and flooding.
“We tend to cut down plants indiscriminately,” he said, “injudiciously wanting to squat on a piece of land thinking we can work on it and make some money. But while we try to satisfy our own needs, we do not know the extent of damage we are doing to the environment… to the ecosystem.”
“You cut it down, you plant, you burn it, you plant and what happens is that you not only destroy the plant, but you destroy the food for some important insects like the pollinators, the bees and the others,” Robertson explained.