Trinidad and Tobago needs more youth in agriculture to secure the future advancement and security of the nation’s agriculture and food processing industries.
This concern was raised by representatives of major agro-organisations during the “Exploring Opportunities with India: Agriculture and Food Processing” Seminar held on Tuesday.
Senior Lecturer at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine Faculty of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Ronald Roopnarine, noted that in order to keep the industry alive, more needs to be done to show young people the endless possibilities in the field.
“Why do we not portray agriculture in a way with technology, the agro-processing, some of the things that we have been gifted from the High Commission of India to demonstrate that there is technology, there is a future, and there are viable options for getting into agriculture going forward.”
President of the 4-H Club, Natasha Lee, questioned the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries’ strategy for making food processing and agricultural training more accessible to schools nationwide.
“So as an educator myself, 4-H engages you, so how can we get more agriculture, more food processing systems in our primary schools where we have children who are getting the very first pleasurable, enjoyable, successful feel for agriculture where they may look at furthering this subject at the secondary school level and eventually becoming our new breed of farmers.”
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Ravi Ratiram responded, stating that plans are underway to strengthen the partnership with the 4-H Club, prioritise learning experiences, and introduce new agriculture programmes in the schools.
“We have a series of training programmes and partnerships that we will be rolling out next year to focus on youth development and meaningful youth development with sustainable opportunities in the agricultural sector, but we are in conversation with the Minister to do some specific projects in all the schools across the board, starting from modern cultivation technologies and bringing on the additional agro-processing opportunities for the younger ones.”
The discussion underscored the importance of investing in our youths through agricultural and educational initiatives aimed at equipping the next generation of farmers with the necessary skills and confidence to provide a more food-secure future.