There is much talk about the opening of a rice mill. LIAQUAT Ali held a sod turning ceremony at Milton Village in Couva but the project failed to materialize.
Government should subsidize the rice industry by giving concessions to private enterprises to open mills. More so, with more than one mill bidding for paddy, the farmers would be better positioned to bargain for a profitable price for their paddy.
Also rice farming must not be confined to the big farmers but also include smaller farmers who can farm their acreage cooperatively. Without this diversity of stake holders, the industry will never be competitive and political patronage may get the better of it resulting in certain death.
Why the NFM rice mill at Carlsen Field went under? Was it the farmers that failed the industry? Or, was it political interference? I know that the union at NFM has a representative on the board of NFM to seek the welfare of the workers; however, there has never been a voice to represent the welfare of the rice farmers.
The rice mill at NFM went under to facilitate the food importers? Importation of rice, warehousing packaging, labelling and distribution to supermarket replaced the culture of discipline hard work. Areas such as Rock Road in Penal and other parts of the Lagoon that families were engaged in production went into economic darkness with no politician batting an eyelid.
Any government worth its salt has a duty to protect its farmers who are there to offer food security. Unfortunately, the interests of the food importers have always superseded the welfare of the nation.
Worse is that the Ministry of Agriculture and the technical staff in particular have failed to develop better varieties of seeds over the years. Again, it is the curse of having economic dependence in the hands of the public sector.
The so called 1% that parades as entrepreneurs have never worked in the best interest of the people. The closer of the sugar industry has worked in the interest of food importers with no desire to resuscitate this industry. I was hoping that the St Madeleine could have been purchased by the private sector and private farmers re enter the industry. Unfortunately, importing sugar seem to be the order of the day with limited or no concern for the welfare of those affected after the closer of the industry.
CEPEP, URP and Carnival continue to get more money from the State though not earning a single cent in revenue. The boast of tourists arriving in the country for Carnival is idle talk.
With political elections around the corner it would be interesting to hear the policies of the UNC on these matters.
Thousands of families in south and Central Trinidad have never recovered from the closure of these industries and continue to live marginally with the dream that a son or daughter may qualify as a doctor and bring glory to the family.
It is now clear to me that despite all the grandiose boast of education and scholarship, the people of South and Central Trinidad are not in charge of their destination. And the failure of Liaquat Ali to materialize his rice mills is adequate proof of that social reality.