Posted by admin on May 8, 2012 ? ?
In photo are the 26 farmers who graduated from the 2nd annual Farmer Enterprise Training Programme run by the University of Trinidad and Tobago, facilitated by the Ministry of Food Production and Land and Marine Affairs, and sponsored by LNG production company Atlantic. Front row seated includes (left to right): Ms. Leela Watti Rastogi, the Ministry's Director, Regional Administration South; Ms. Toni Sirju-Ramnarine, Head, Sustainability and Corporate Communications, Atlantic; Ms. Stephanie Elder Alexander, the Ministry's Deputy Permanent Secretary; and Ms. Jillian Singh, Product Assistant, University of Trinidad and Tobago.
LNG production company Atlantic will continue to invest in the training of farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs as an initiative to help reduce Trinidad and Tobago?s reliance on food imports.
This was announced by Toni Sirju-Ramnarine, Atlantic?s Head of Sustainability and Corporate Communications, who was speaking at the recently held Graduation Ceremony for the 2nd annual Atlantic Farmer Enterprise Training Programme.
Addressing the Programme?s twenty-six (26) graduates, Ms. Sirju-Ramnarine explained that while it may seem strange for a company that processes natural gas to be interested in farming and food production, Atlantic saw it as an opportunity to help strengthen local capacity and re-energise agricultural enterprise at the community level.
?Food is not a luxury, but a necessity,? Ms. Sirju-Ramnarine said. ??It is our expectation that your commercial farming enterprises will decrease Trinidad and Tobago?s vulnerability to global market forces and reliance on food imports.?
Ms. Sirju-Ramnarine described the Farmer Enterprise Training Programme as straddling the line between traditional agricultural techniques and modern approaches to viable commercial agricultural business.
?Today?s farming communities must be willing to adopt new approaches and explore new opportunities to take your product from field to market, if they are to be sustainable,? Ms. Sirju-Ramnarine said. ??In your grandparents? time, understanding marketing, sponsorships and e-business were not required for agricultural enterprise. ?However to be competitive in today?s market, one has to be one step ahead.?
The Atlantic Farmer Enterprise Training Programme was established in 2010 by Atlantic in partnership with the University of Trinidad and Tobago and the Ministry of Food Production and Land and Marine Affairs. ?The programme focuses on the development of ?agri-entrepreneurs? in the Southwest Peninsula and wider Trinidad and Tobago. ?The three-month course exposes young farmers to the latest techniques in their areas of agriculture specializations, as well as skills in business development and the use of computer applications in modern agri-business.
For the 2012 programme, twenty-six (26) farmers and entrepreneurs participated, with specializations in food crops, tree crops, agri-processing, vegetables, apiculture and poultry.
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