caroni initiative for food production

CARONI INITIATIVE FOR FOOD CARONI INITIATIVE FOR FOOD PRODUCTIONPRODUCTION

Presented byChristine Sahadeo

Restructuring of Caroni(1975)ltd

• Priority access of 2 acre plots- 7248• Late applications of approximately 1100• Introduced approx.15000 acres of land• Tenancies regularized re cane farmers-

12000acres

Caroni Initiative for Food Production 2

CARONI (1975) LIMITED

• RECONFIGURATION - LAND UTILIZATION POST AUGUST 2003

• AS COMPARED TO CONFIGURATION – LAND

UTILIZATION PRE-AUGUST 2003


RECONFIGURATION - LAND UTILIZATION POST AUGUST 2003

PRE AUGUST 2003

POST AUGUST 2003

Acreage % Acreage %

1 Sugarcane 27,081 35.40% - -

2 Agricultural

Squatters 4,222 5.50% 4,222 5.50%

3 Citrus/Tree crops 3328 4.30% 3317 4.30%

4 Rice – Irrigated and

Rain Fed 4,000 5.20% 4,000 5.20%

5 Livestock and Pasture

4,175 5.50% 3,767 4.90%



PRE AUGUST 2003 POST AUGUST 2003

Acreage % Acreage %

6 Aquaculture 284 0.40% 25 0.03%

7 Lands for

Agriculture - VSEP - - 20,319 26.50%

8 Existing Tenants 11,861 15.50% 11,861 15.50%

9 Four 100 acre Model Farms

- - 400 0.50%

10 PCS Nitrogen - - 75 0.10%

Sub Total 54,951 71.80% 47,986 62.53%



PRE AUGUST 2003

POST AUGUST 2003

Acreage % Acreage %

12 Residual 10,694 14.00% 6,803.73 9.00%

Final Total 76,608 100.00% 76,608 100.00%


Solution to food inflation

• Inflation now stands at 15.4%• Food inflation-major catalyst of headline

inflation• Expansion of domestic food supply• Vibrant local agricultural sector• Expansion of the acreage under food

cultivation


Support provided to former employees/cane farmers

• Special concession whereby all former workers and cane farmers registered as farmers with the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Marine Affairs- ( MALMA)

• Access to Agricultural Incentive Programme• Regularization and of the status of 6000 sugar

cane farmers who had tenancies or were squatting on state lands


Support provided to farmers

• Reduction in lease premiums to $200 per 2 acre plot per annum

• Concessionary arrangements including reduced interest rates by the Agricultural Development Bank

• Training in agriculture and other technical areas.


Low ratio of cultivated acreage

• 326.5 acres out of the total acreage of 15,000 acres – a ratio of 2.2 percent.

• To date only 404 beneficiaries are actively involved in which 241 is involved in land preparation and 163 in cultivation of products as follows:


Cultivated Acreage

• cassava 59.70• sweet potato 68.00• peas 32.00• pumpkin 18.25• pepper 21.75• ochro 16.50• pineapple 16.50• tomatoes 22.00• eddoes 15.75• mixed crops 55.55• total acreages 326.00


ISSUES

• Many of the former Caroni Workers were not farmers and require additional support

• The lands of Caroni are not fertile and have high levels of acidity, which requires soil testing and remedial work to determine selection of crop best suited to soil type.


ISSUES

• Extension support services provided by MALMR is inadequate and cannot support such a large influx of new farmers.

• Training required in the area of:Soil ManagementBasic equipment maintenance Crop rotationUse of R+D and new technology


ISSUES

• Inadequate infrastructure• Agricultural Product Insurance• Praedial Larceny• Inadequate support for farmers to move along

the value chain• Need for planned production and marketing

of produce


ISSUES

• Support for the marketing of national agricultural products, to promote national food labels and national branding

• Provision of increased financial support for local producers in the form of Micro credit and Small Grant programs for small and medium enterprises as farmers encouraged to move along the value chain


Direct individual support to 7500 farmers is fraught with many challenges

• Difficulty in providing training and support individually because of a large number of new farmers

• Many of these new farmers have limited knowledge and expertise in agriculture

• Difficult to develop and implement a production schedule based on the needs of the market


Direct individual support to 7500 farmers is fraught with many challenges

• Unscheduled planning and production will result in glut and shortages and wide fluctuations in prices

• Farming by individual 2 acre plots will result in high cost and unable to take advantage of economies of scale

• Not supportive of moving along the value chain and maximizing gains


Direct individual support to 7500 is fraught with many challenges

• Inadequate volume to engage in direct marketing that gives farmers higher margins

• Inadequate volume to engage in “guaranteed markets” exports or niche markets


Delivery Schedule for Agriculture Estates as at March 11 2008

SITE NOS. ESTATES SECTION NOS.

SUB-DIVISIONS

NO. OF APPLICANTS

NORTH

1 Orange Grove

1 Orange Grove

104

2 Caroni 2 Caroni 207

3 Jerningham 3 Jerningham 271


Delivery Schedule cont’dSITE NOS. ESTATES SECTION NOS. SUB-

DIVISIONSNO. OF APPLICANTS

CENTRAL

4 Edinburgh 4/5 Edinburgh A/B

683

5 Felicity I 6 Felicity I 352

6 Felicity II 7 Felicity II 249

7 Waterloo I 8 Waterloo I 492

8 Waterloo II 9/10 Waterloo II A/B

127


Delivery Schedule cont’dSITE NOS. ESTATES SECTION

NOS.SUB-DIVISIONS

NO. OF APPLICANTS

CENTRAL

9 Exchange I 11/12 Exchange I A/B

841

10 Exchange II 13/14 Exchange II A/B

365

11 Montserrat I 15 Montserrat I 219

12 Montserrat II 16 Montserrat II 153


Delivery Schedule cont’dSITE NOS. ESTATES SECTION

NOSSUB-DIVISIONS

NO. OF APPLICANTS

SOUTH

13 Reform 17/18/19 Reform 713

14 Cedar Hill 20/21/22 Cedar Hill 669

15 Petit Morne 23/24/25/29 Petit Morne A/B/C/D

659

16 La Fortune/

Picton

26/27/28 La Fortune A/B/C

804

17 La Gloria 30 La Gloria 340

TOTAL 7,248


Thirteen (13) large farms

267 acresOrange Grove 100acres

Caroni 100 acresJerningham 108 acres Picton I 241 acresPicton II 224 acresPicton III 262 acresPicton iv 267acres

Piston V 209 acresLa Gloria I 162 acresLa Gloria II 202acres Edinburgh I 115 acresEdinburgh II 114 acresEdinburgh III 125 acres

Total 2129acres


Justification for establishment of Community Associations

• Community Associations are platforms where farmers share knowledge on use of appropriate technology, research and development

• Allows more effective training and sharing of information

• Based on large volumes it allows direct marketing which allows farmers more effective marketing and pricing of produce

• Introduces economies of scale .


Justification for establishment of Community Associations

• Encourages and nurtures a business culture and entrepreneurship

• Creates environment for producers to add value to certain commodities in order to yield maximum gain.

• Community Associations also lends to the establishment of Commodity Associations thereby introducing further synergies.

• Requires less manual labour and affords greater mechanization


Role of The University of the West Indies – Faculty of Agriculture and Management Studies

• 500 students registered • 1966-present successful programs in agriculture, agribusiness

and entrepreneurship • Provide solutions to technical problems faced by farmers

through Research & Development• Extension services provided by MALMR should be in

collaboration with UWI to ensure farmers are kept up to date with technology and R&D



• UWI can assist in the establishment of Community Associations and develop terms of reference

• Can undertake all soil testing and based on soil types assist in planning production schedule

• Plan a training program that ensures all farmers trained and updated with new technology



• Program to include assignment of students to farms allowing for 2 way exchange of training and education

• Development partnerships with graduates • Curriculum restructuring • Provide support to farmers in business

development and entrepreneurship. Assist farmers in the preparation of business plans.


Restructuring of the Agricultural Sector

• Success of the agricultural sector requires the restructuring of the sector

• Implementation of National Agri- Business Development Program

• Implementation of programs by several agencies such as NAMDEVCO,ADB AND TTABA



• Moving it from a large number of small individuals, no technology and inefficient marketing systems to a large number of small and medium size agro entrepreneurs.



Create a highly organized industry by: Establishing community association Establishing Commodity Associations Formulating predictable contract

production and marketing systems



Building capacity of the sector use of best agricultural practices Building the human capital in the agricultural

sector at the professional, entrepreneurial and labour level

Improving the efficiency and competitiveness of the local agricultural sector



• A very important aspect of restructuring the agricultural sector is ensuring a supply of quality labour and training.

This will be achieved by:Ensuring new technology and R&D is made

available to farmersTraining in use and application of fertilizers

through the education of the local farming community.



Training programs should include:1. Agricultural Economies2. Business Planning for Farmers3. Crop Diversification4. Basic Equipment Maintenance5. Soil Management


Trinidad and Tobago Agri-business Association (TTABA)

Responsible for the management of the NADP Establish supply agreement with supermarkets,

hotels Establish buyer agreements with buyer associations Farmers associations enter into production contracts

based on supply agreements Contracts at guaranteed prices – cost of production

plus a “fair profit margin”.


Trinidad and Tobago Agri-Business Association

(TTABA)- Achievements

500 acres under contract arrangements Value added process has begun Regular meetings with farmer’s groups Established supply agreement with supermarkets,

hotels Negotiated production schedule and prices


Implementation of the National Agri-Business Development Programme

• Reposition the sector by moving it from the narrow focus on primary agriculture to the broader context of agri-business

• Provide support to farmers to move along the value chain, generating higher profits and build entrepreneurship

• Create linkages between agriculture, agro processing, food manufacture

• Close collaboration and joint investment between public and private sector


NAMDEVCO- National Agricultural Marketing and Development Company

• The establishment of this State Enterprise

was for the primary purpose of making strategic interventions in the market place in order to encourage improved and more effective agricultural production, processing, packaging and distribution and provide guaranteed support to farmers.



• These measures included:• The provision of guaranteed prices for certain

agricultural products in times of surplus;• Administration of guaranteed floor process for

target crops and a mechanism to ensure targeted production through guaranteed floor prices for targeted crops;



• Setting up of agro-processing and export arrangements to

secure the sale of surplus crops, as well as to facilitate their processing;

• The importation, in times of shortage, and with the consent of the Minister of agriculture, of food items from regional and extra-regional sources to maintain the stability of food prices

• Successful in recent times in communicating food prices and the establishment of farmers’ markets


Agricultural Development Bank

• The Government of Trinidad and Tobago (GORTT) has mandated the ADB to be the facilitator in the planning and development of a pilot Agricultural Insurance Programme.

• The proposal is for the development of and implementation of a pilot programme

• This should provide a tremendous boost to farmers and provide an impetus for the revitalization of this industry.


Agricultural Development Bank

• Provides loans to these new and emerging farmers at preferential rates

• Security for loan is also offered at concessional terms


The Way forward

• We must see these challenges as opportunities and develop creative solutions

• Critical success factor involves the partnership of:– Government– Private sector– Tertiary level institutional support - UWI

• The current issue of food security has brought the agricultural sector to the forefront in every country and as a result governments must be innovative, improve the sector competitiveness and ensure sustained production.


The University of the West Indies

• UWI is well positioned to lead the transformation of this initiative

• Provides an opportunity for students in agriculture to become engaged

• Congratulate the Dean , Faculty of Agriculture , Professor Dyer Narinesingh and other colleagues for their genuine support and commitment in supporting this intervention


Thank You


caroni initiative for food production

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