Rambharat calls on citizens to eat local

He said the most important thing dealing with the food import bill is individual consumers.

He also said the more time citizens spend in the farmers’ markets the more we can understand food we consume and where it comes from.

Rambharat said people take a risk buying food that we are not familiar and sometimes with packaging that is not even in English. He pointed out that foreign franchises were closing down - Denny’s and Pollo Tropical have recently announced closures - and he said that it would be difficult for food related foreign franchises in this economic time.

Asked about the ratio of local to foreign eateries Rambharat said there is a free market and people are entitled to spend their money and take their risk.

He expressed hope that there will be more interest in local sellers and franchises. On tackling the food import bill from a policy level he reported that they are looking at ramping up production in a number of areas including fruit which has a variety of purposes including consumption and feed for wild animals and flowers for honey production. He said that over a period of time there has been the removal of trees for development and the ministry has been encouraging the replanting of trees. He reported that breadfruit, for example, sells for $10 a pound and there was “no reason for that to happen”.

“And the only way we could avoid things like that is if make the investment now to get production.” He reported that this they have hit their target of 1.2 million of plants available for planting this year. He said these plants have been mainly forestry but fruit as well, and over the next four years they plan to continue hitting that target.

Rambharat said that for large scale planting it had been previously announced that they will move some of the CEPEP workers into programmes to help replant the Northern Range. He explained that wherever they plant it will be a combination of hard wood, soft wood and fruits.

At the plant and garden show yesterday representatives from the Agriculture Ministry hosted a plant clinic. University of the West Indies department of food production instructors and students put up a display.

There were about 35 outdoor vendors as well as indoor vendors selling a variety of plants, crafts and other products