(Trinidad Guardian) By the end of July 2012, T&T will have harvested its first batch of commercialised carrots. It is projected that the crunchy, orange-coloured root vegetable will produce a high yield. The carrots will be used in processing, the School Feeding Programme and put out in the local market to gauge feedback from consumers.
In six weeks, the first batch of carrot seeds will be germinated and planted on one acre of land at Tucker Valley Farm, Chaguaramas, with harvesting expected in July. The second batch will be put into the ground in November, which is when they thrive best. The pilot project will be undertaken by Caribbean Chemicals and Agencies Ltd and the Ministry of Food Production, following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in April 2010.
It’s a project that Carib-bean Chemicals managing director Joe Pires and Food Production Minister Vasant Bharath intend to supervise closely, since this will be the first-ever commercially-viable carrot crop in T&T. “Bharath has already given us his full blessings,” Pires revealed at his San Juan office on Wednesday.
“If the country welcomes our initiatives, we will go all out to put locally-grown food on the table.” However, Pires said he was faced with one obstacle—financing from banks. After cultivation, a cost of production will be determined.
Carrots test run
“We are about to do the trials on the carrots. We know that November is the best time to plant. But we still want to show Trinidad and Tobago that carrots can be grown in the country.” Last month, Fayaz Shah, general manager of Five Star Farms, a subsidiary of Caribbean Chemicals, did a test run by planting several beds of carrot seedlings at Tucker Valley, which have surpassed their expectations.
Carrots, which are an excellent source of vitamin A and potassium, also contain vitamins C & B6, copper, folic acid, thiamine and magnesium, and take three months to fully mature. Shah experimented with three varieties of carrot seeds. Upon harvest, Shah will choose which variety grows best in our tropical climate.
Already six to eight inches off the ground, the plants’ fern-like foliage look healthy and luscious. Buried in the ground were baby carrots feeding on the soil’s nutrients to reach their optimal growth. It costs Government TT$50 million annually to import carrots.
Crops galore
The carrots will be the second in a series of new crops that Five Star Farm will grow locally. Among them are black pepper, sunflower, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, slicing tomatoes, garlic, peanuts, potatoes, bell peppers and purple cabbage, which we import year-round. Stating that different crops require different soil types, Pires said they would have to source state and private lands in the coming months.
Before the end of this year, Pires said they will undertake a pilot project on potatoes, garlic and black pepper at Tucker Valley, where they acquired 100 acres of land from Government. Black pepper, he noted, is used in every restaurant and in almost all homes in the country. “Though highly labour intensive, it’s a million-dollar industry. The Government can generate a lot of revenue from this crop.”
In two weeks’ time, Pires will also test-plant baby corn, used mostly in Chinese dishes. Currently, Pires has several beds of spring onion that are due for harvesting. “We are not going to compete with local farmers since many of these crops are not locally grown. We are checking to see if we can compete with our imports or can add value.”
Becoming self-sufficient
Pires said all that was needed was will, vision, proper research and testing, irrigation, drainage and land with perfect soil. The objective, Pires said, was to help reduce the country’s staggering TT$4 billion annual food import bill, while at the same time help T&T become food sufficient.
“We don’t want a repeat of what happened in 2001 when the World Trade Center was bombed and we were faced with the restriction of goods coming to our shores. During 9/11 we came close to that when the US stopped all its exports. Within a month of the bombing we saw food prices skyrocketing. We need to provide some food of our own just in case a war breaks out or disaster strikes. We should not be caught with our pants down.”
On March 1, Caribbean Chemicals and the Food Production Ministry harvested for the first time two varieties of local onions, approximately 30,000 plants, which were planted in December 2011 and reaped 90 days later. The onions will be sold to local food chain Subway, two weeks after they have been dried.
“We can plant up to 200 to 300 acres, which will take us to nearly half of our requirements for onions for the year. The fact of the matter is we can compete with the foreign prices. We can sell our onions at a reasonable price to the consumer and still make a profit.” Noting that food inflation was on the rise, Pires said his objective was to stem this. To produce 100 acres of onions, Pires said 25 jobs needed to be created.
In the last four years, T&T’s import bill for onions was TT$100 million. Around Easter, Pires said onion prices skyrocket. “We think it is the difference between north and south onions coming in. We feel we can come in there and keep the prices down.” Pires said for years people have been saying that T&T could not cultivate certain crops.
Today, he has proved them wrong. In the 1970s, Pires said to import onions, carrots, peanuts and potatoes one needed a licence. “It was controlled by the Ministry of Agriculture. Many claimed that there was some corruption involved with the issuing of those licences.” Back then, a cabal was formed among the importers, who did not want these crops to grow locally since it would have negatively impacted their pockets.
Pires said though many have expressed the view that Caribbean Chemicals wanted to control agricultural lands and impose a duty on the crops they grow, he insisted that this was the furthest from the truth. “We don’t want to do this alone. If anyone, especially farmers, want to come on board as partners we are willing to help. It’s all for the benefit of the country.”
