VEGETABLE PRICES SOAR — FARMERS BLAME GOVT

THE GOVERNMENT of Trinidad and Tobago is being blamed for the “dramatic price increase” in market produce and vegetables, following widespread flooding in several areas of Trinidad and Tobago over the weekend. In a release yesterday National Foodcrop Farmers Association explained that while it is aware of the fact that consumers will be made to bear the brunt of the increases, it was unavoidable since Government lacked any adequate strategy to deal with flooding and appropriate compensation packages to farmers who suffer major losses. The Association explained that the prices of some of its produce would be increased by as much as double the current figure, and is pleading with the public “not to blame the farmers,” noting that the “blame lies squarely with the Government which refuses to adequately compensate farmers for their agricultural losses.”

The release, which was signed by the Association’s Special Adviser Anderson Morris, explained that farmers in the Oropouche and Penal areas, who lost most of their produce a few weeks ago, were given $40 and $50 compensation by the Agriculture Ministry, noting that “that was not compensation, that was an insult.” The Association called on the local population to “pressure” the Government to supply some meaningful compensation to farmers and to have a fundamental review of the country’s drainage system if flooding is to be prevented in the future. The Association further stated that it is “only with positive intervention on the part of the Government that produce and vegetable prices could be reduced at this time. If this is not forthcoming, the population can expect these elevated prices to remain for some time.”