The Agricultural Society of Trinidad and Tobago (ASTT) has launched a project in Cedros to rear tilapia. It is being done in collaboration with Point Coco Agricultural Corporation in an effort towards developing aquacultural projects to ensure a food-stable nation. The tilapia pilot project was launched on August 26 at the Point Coco Co-operative Facility in Cedros, and was attended by more than 400 members and associates of the ASTT. The project was started on April 17 this year, when the members of ASTT began to rear the Silver Nile tilapia in raised concrete tanks.
Within four months from it's conception, 2,400 tilapia had been reared, weighing an average of one pound each. The tilapia were fed a high protein diet to ensure healthy growth and flavourful meat. Executive board member of the ASTT Jensen Alexander said the project was aimed at further developing aquaculture to promote local food security. Alexander said the country had spent an average of $12 million yearly on importing fish, a majority of which was tilapia. He congratulated all those involved in the pilot project and hoped that it would be the first step in developing more aquacultural projects.
He said the ASTT had assembled packages for farmers to encourage tilapia farming. He said funding would be provided for interested parties to jump-start the production of a local food source. President of ASTT Dhano Sookoo said the tilapia project is one of the many projects that the ASTT had developed for the expansion of local agriculture. She gave examples of projects that the ASTT was in the process of developing, which included the sheep and goat rearing, and shearing project and the construction of the agricultural access road at Mahabalsingh Branch Road No 2, Rio Claro. Sookoo said that despite social upsets, the ASTT in it's 170th year would continue to develop agriculutre in an effort to ensure a food-secure T&T.
