The Ministry of Agriculture and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) recently hosted a two-day seminar aimed at improving farm management and operation.

According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release the meeting titled the Cost of Production Model, is expected to help farmers and agriculture stakeholders to make policy and investment decisions. It also aims to encourage record keeping and to determine the profitability of crops.
Minister Robert Persaud said the training programme is necessary to modernise the sector. He said many farmers focus on the art and the science of agriculture, but sufficient attention is not paid to the business of agriculture. “…It is through this type of interaction that we would be able to get our farmers and other stakeholders to fully appreciate the business of agriculture,” Persaud said.

The minister also pointed out that farmers and processors are engaged in this field for their livelihoods. “They are in agriculture to make money.

No action is taken by farmers to understand the true value of their crop. Having a cost of production statement helps the farmer to know where there is overspending or where costs can be reduced,” Persaud said.

According to GINA, government has invested $20M to facilitate this training in the sector in order to help farmers better run their businesses.

“A kit would be put together for other farmers and computer software would be developed for farmers to appropriately record their products and expenditures,” it said.

The seminar was facilitated by Policy Analysis and Planning Specialist at the IICA Office in Trinidad and Tobago, Edric Harry.

It was held at UG’s Centre for Information Technology at the Turkeyen Campus.