Agriculture Minister urges citizens to buy local

Rambharat made the statement yesterday while speaking to reporters at the closing ceremony of the Technical Cooperation Project for Latin America and the Caribbean held at the Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain.

He said in light of declining oil and gas prices, agriculture remains a viable means of revenue and urged citizens to support local farmers however they can.

“Trinidadians and Tobagonians need to make a decision as to whether they want to support local farmers or whether they want to support people growing fruits and vegetables in countries that they don’t know and they don’t see the production or the farmers.” Rambharat said while the economic downturn has affected everyone, the ministry continues to work closely with farmers to ensure optimal value for products productivity at a price everyone can afford.

“You will go to all the markets and see there is fresh fruit and vegetables available for sale are zero rated, which means that its not trapped in Value Added Tax. We are able to work with farmers to keep the prices at the level that consumers can buy.” Asked what his expectations were for the mid year budget, he said he was not at liberty to divulge what specific requests were made, but said he was prepared to work with whatever was allocated to him, for the betterment of farmers.