May - June 2008


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At the Crossroads

Can we ensure our food security?
by Anna Walcott-Hardy

UWI Pro Vice Chancellor and Campus Principal, Professor Clement Sankat, heralded the AgriTECH Expo 2008: Experience New Agriculture as “the beginning of a new dawn in food security in the region.” At the launch of the initiative at the St Augustine Campus in April, the UWI Principal spoke of being at “the crossroad of determining our future as a country and within the Caribbean Region on how we can ensure our food security.”

He went on to add that Agriculture needed to be viewed and linked to industry.

“Technology and innovation, entrepreneurship and wealth creation must be infused into it. It must therefore transform itself and hence AgriTECH and the work of our University, our Research and Development Centres, our Agricultural Extension and other support services must be invigorated to drive this transformation.”

He underscored the need to be proactive through the support of technological innovation, entrepreneurship and a commitment in the long term to ensure the availability of suitable lands, infrastructure for drainage, irrigation, access roads, as well as financial support for farmers. The Principal also praised Professor Dyer Narinesingh, Dean of the Faculty of Science and Agriculture (FSA) who also spoke at the launch along with Dr Pathmanathan Umaharan, FSA Deputy Dean (Enterprise and Outreach) and Chairman of AgriTECH 2008; Dr Isaac Bekele, Head of the Department of Food Production.

Sponsored by ASTT, bpTT, the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Marine Resources and BHP Billiton, the Expo saw stakeholders converge on The University Field Station (UFS), Mount Hope, from Wednesday 16th to Sunday 20th April, 2008. Located to the south of the Medical Sciences Complex is this unique, highly productive department. As you turn-off of the Uriah Butler Highway on to a busy intersection, you then enter a veritable garden of Eden – with lush irrigated fields, acres of green, dotted with Jersey, Holstein and Jamaica Hope cows. There are large pens with chickens, sheep, ducks and pigs, along with neat bungalows, an abattoir, machine shop, two-storey classroom and dairy. The public can buy vegetables, meats and fresh milk, at competitive prices at the Field Station.

It’s no surprise that the modern farm setting at the UFS was selected as the location for the Expo which reflected the non-traditional, innovative approach by the coordinators. The event boasted technology exhibits, live field demonstrations and hands-on training workshops in a range of areas, including Plant and Animal Health, Addition and Marketing, Crop and Horticulture, Sustainable Exploitation of Genetic Resources, and Alternate Agriculture Livelihoods. Workshops focusing on Livestock and Aquaculture, Landscaping, Poultry and Rabbit Production, Value Greenhouse Technology, Nano-gro Technology and Bee-keeping were conducted by a number of national and international scientists including Dr Rajendra Rastogi of the UWI Faculty of Science and Agriculture, Robert Best of the Caribbean Poultry Association, and ASTT President, Dhano Sookoo.

“I thought [AgriTECH] was done at a time when people were looking for solutions as to where agriculture was heading and what role it should play in terms of providing affordable healthy food for citizens,” Dr Bekele said recently. “The Expo did two main things; I thought it brought the farmers, the academics, the government and the business people together – it was a market place of ideas and technology. That was one thing. It was also a product of a joint venture among the University, the business [sector] and the government which showed a commitment by all sides.”

In fact, the Exposition proved to be a catalyst for stakeholders including farmers, scientists and engineers to share information and assist in revitalising and restructuring regional agriculture. According to UWI scientist Dr. Umaharan, there have been many calls from interested persons regarding the technology, seeds and greenhouses on display. For instance the greenhouses that were exhibited are more suited to the humid tropical climate of Trinidad and Tobago, whereas others that are imported may efficiently manage the heat, but not the humidity, and are more suited for subtropical or temperate regions, Dr Umaharan explained. Also there is great interest in tissue cultures (the micropropagation or accelerated growth of plants including bananas, plantains, pineapples and ornamentals). There has also been keen interest in automated fertilisation and irrigation systems by farmers; as well calls by public and private stakeholders about the backyard gardening systems that were on display. Ultimately Dr Umaharan agreed that “from the feedback we are getting it was quite a success.”

For more information on AgriTECH Expo 2008 , please call (868)-662-2002 Ext.2318