Agricultural Expo opens Friday

Dr Samaroo will speak on indentured labourers and the role they have played in the development of agriculture and food production in TT.

The five-day agricultural expo will be open until May at the Mid Centre Mall, in Chaguanas. The expo is being held to commemorate the 161st anniversary of Indian Arrival Day in TT.

The programme will be be held under the patronage of the Mayor of Chaguanas, Surujrattan Rambachan. Under the theme, “Let’s Culture Our Lives With Agriculture,” the programme will feature paintings, literature, agricultural plants and booth displays highlighting the various aspects of agriculture in TT.

There will also be a song contest and writers and performers are asked to submit their compositions based on the theme at the committee’s office Elenore Street, Chaguanas

Chief coordinator Ajeet Praimsingh said there will be over 50 booths displaying a wide variety of plants grown here and in the Caribbean.

The expo will also conduct workshops for children and teenagers, a local song contest and display and sale of produce.

Praimsingh said that while the committee is well known for its annual award ceremony on Indian Arrival Day each year, it decided to host this programme because of the tremendous response so far.

“It was for the purpose of working the sugar cane fields and working the lands that the East Indians came to this country. With this in mind we have launched an in-depth research plan that will show how important agriculture is in Trinidad and Tobago,” he said.

He noted that there are several aspects of this topic that can be explored. This is why, he said, the committee has taken up the challenge of exploring agriculture.

Workshops will be conducted in plant propagation, grafting and budding, hydroponics and grow-box, plant fertilising and marketing. A display of the various medicinal plants and foods will also be mounted.