Friday, January 29 2010

NEWLY re-elected president of the Agricultural Society of Trinidad and Tobago (ASCTT), Dhano Sookhoo has promised to help her members to become better farmers in TT.

She said this on Wednesday during her remarks at the ASCTT’s annual general meeting at the Centre of Excellence, Macoya.

Sookhoo was chosen to serve as president for the third consecutive time and she guaranteed under her leadership, TT will become the food basket of the region.

She explained there were many challenges during 2009 and that the organisation had to act decisively to ensure its continued progress.

“As part of the strengthening, we have now increased the staff with contract employment and OJTs (On the Job Trainees). We initiated a membership drive and we have over 4000 members and 50 affiliated bodies,” she said.

Sookhoo added the association also recently acquired its first vehicle in 171 years of its existence and that they were in the process of developing a five-year strategic plan. She pointed out the many programmes they started in 2009 and planned to continue in the years to come.

“In the sectoral development programme for 2009, there has been propagation of 12,928 citrus nurseries where 9,353 plants have been distributed to 15 farmer associations including Tobago, these plants are at a subsidised price of $10 each,” she explained.

She also pointed out that 10,000 hybrid cocoa plants have been distributed to 11 farmer associations which have rehabilitated approximately 732 acres of cocoa.

Sookhoo revealed the association imported 33 goats and four sheep from the US that were pure bred.

“We partnered with the farmers in the goat and sheep society to stimulate the breeding programme to enhance our local stock. These animals were imported at no cost to the farmers, we are also going to embark on phase two of the programme where the kids from this imported stock would be distributed to another group of farmers as we continue to develop the entire goat and sheep industry in Trinidad and Tobago,” she said.

They also launched the first commercially grown batch of tiliapia using above the ground concrete tiles where they have trained 43 individuals in tiliapia farming. They have also provided water for 500 acres of lands under production after they desilted 70,000 feet of a major watercourse in eight days.