Mango, stars down in Sando

Mango-based products including soaps and skin cream were also on show.

This as the San Fernando City Corporation partnered with the Network of Rural Women Producers of Trinidad and Tobago to host the tenth annual Mango Festival on Friday.

Mayor Junia Regrello opened the festival saying he plans to host this festival on a continuous basis in the south land.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries Avinash Singh said events such as this, serve as viable opportunities in which the cultivation and reaping of agricultural produce can be celebrated both as a lucrative and rewarding vocation.

He noted that the network comprises a membership of over 60 small businesses and is one of the shining examples of government’s commitment to stimulate sustainable growth through entrepreneurial activity and self-sufficiency.

“Each year the network of rural women celebrates the diversity and economic potential of mangoes by staging the Mango Festival,” Singh said, adding that this year promises to see an array of fun-filled themes through the presentation of a plethora of mango varieties and mango-inspired products which is geared towards a range of competitions which include: ‘D Mango Chutney Championship’, ‘D Mango Chow Down’, ‘Who’s Curry Mango Licking’ and ‘D Best Mango Sucker’.

He outlined the main objectives of this project as being to encourage the growth of the Mango Industry in T&T and to raise awareness of the health benefits and creative uses of the mango fruit in local cuisine. He noted that the government supports the women in rural communities by creating opportunities for them to showcase their products and services through this festival and other outreach programmes similar to mango-fest.

“This event will also serve to educate the public on the mango industry, its growth, its variety and marketing potential and it also sustains the culture of mango consumption,” he said, adding that on the heels of celebrating Indian Arrival Day, one must remember that this fruit was brought here by the indentured labourers from India.

He noted that this fruit can be made into many dishes when it is both in the green and ripened stage. “I am sure you know that for Hindu prayers we must have mango-amchar and we also have kutchela, and chutney,” he said, adding that it forms part of our cultural fabric in this land.

The ripened mangoes, he says, are eaten raw for dessert and they are now being made into drinks.

He praised the network saying it was established in 1995 as an umbrella body geared toward promoting issues that affect rural women. This organisation, he says, empowers rural women to enhance their own economic and social well-being.

Under the theme: “Mango in Sando”, this year’s festival embarked on a series of activities which included a mango-meal activity which solicited the collective participation of several restaurants within San Fernando.

Also a health and cultural education exercise on mangoes as well as a practical culinary activity involving mangoes.

Singh brought greetings on behalf of Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, Clarence Rambharat.

He also said the 2016 festival took place at the Macoya Market courtesy one of our Ministry’s State agencies - the National Agricultural Marketing Development Corporation (Namdevco) - who like the Ministry, is also exhibiting at this year’s festival.