Eat Local day

It is the wish of agricultural economist Omardath Maharaj, the Tableland Pineapple Farmers Association, The Felicity/Charlieville Fishing Association and the National 4-H Club that more local products will go into the lovely Christmas menus being prepared and also for other festive seasons.

As part of that mission, the Eat Local Day, being observed today will showcase local foods, fruits, vegetables and niche market products like local wines.

The day’s event takes place at the Enchanted Gardens Banquet Hall Princes Town from 11 am. Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, Clarence Rambharat; Minister of Public Utilities, Fitzgerald Hinds; and MP for Moruga/Tableland, Dr Lovell Francis are expected to be among the attendees.

The merged effort is part of a wider vision of bringing the issue of the country’s food security and sustainability to the table.

Maharaj in a phone interview with Newsday said, “We go further to argue the point that we must regain trust and goodwill among stakeholders in the sector which are farmers, fishers, niche market entrepreneurs etc. These people need to be motivated and they need to be raised up on the national development agenda.

“Or policy planning would just remain talking. What we face in the agriculture sector now is the absence of a coherent national policy framework for sustainable agriculture and rural development. The focus this year is about sustainability of the sector and the need for that sort of policy environment would allow us to know the food and agricultural sector performance, for example, our national food security.” The event is now in its fifth year and has gained little help from what he described as institutional support - the ministry and other key agricultural institutions.

The day was started in 2012 when Maharaj and the pineapple association got together celebrate the country’s 50th Independence Anniversary. The farmers and fishers have run yearly public education campaigns on the need for more local production and purchase. The campaigns, he noted, have yielded fruit particularly when one looked at local products and goods proudly displayed on supermarket shelves across TT .

But, he noted, that firm policy position was needed to, “directly foster production and build comparative advantage in value addition.

It would allow us to know what is the status of rural welfare as well as international trading relations as it relates to food.

“We have spoken about the food import bill so many times and certainly with the exchange rate pressure right now, the value of that is expected to rise. It does not mean we are importing more food but the price we pay on the international market.” “These thrusts, these things we champion, we want to, in a substantial way, increase the entitlement and the food available to the country as well as we want to make sure that this food is culturally appropriate and so on,” he said.

True sustainability, for Maharaj, means supporting those who support us. He said by supporting the men and women who feed TT , local food production is made sustainable.

“Every village, every school have some sort of Christmas activity taking place and if you let people know that there are local alternatives of equal value. They will add to healthy eating, a better local economy and would allow everyone to participate in the system,” he said.

Maharaj said the group also organises the National Food Festival, plus co-ordinates tours to agricultural estates and built a base with agricultural schools among others in an attempt to raise public awareness.

The time has come, he said, for the country to look at a national policy for sustainable agriculture and rural development that would allow us, “to tap into the responsiveness of the sector and not have piecemeal things.” It is expected to bring together, fishers, and niche market producers who make ice creams and other local derivatives. Paw paw chutney, coconut chutney, curried duck using the local saffron root are on the event’s menu.

Entrance would be allowed when one presents a local fruit, food, vegetable, beverage, art, craft and/or performance.