Businessman Sieunarine Persad Coosal has called for greater use of local content in the construction sector. In the feature address at Wednesday’s opening of the Coosal’s new corporate headquarters at Madras Road, Cunupia, Coosal said: “I am of the view that greater use of local content, capable of providing the same standards and quality and consistency, will redound to the benefit of  T&T.” “In terms of employment, the multiplier effect will be associated with optimum levels of employment, from engineers to skilled/unskilled labour, to the generation of small business enterprises, from mom and pop establishments to food vendors and suppliers.”

Coosal said there must be a greater level of transparency and accountability in the award of contracts. He said lack of sustainable government projects in the short, medium and long term severely affects future planning of his company’s work force. “Employees have either to be sent home, or incorporated into other divisions as far as we can. The consequences are thus far reaching,” he said. Coosal said a revolutionary and rigorous transformation of the industry’s regulatory and governance infrastructure and commitment is need. He explained that the new location of the corporate head office allows the company to effectively and efficiently lead and manage an expansive range of operation from a “smart building” occupying 40,000 square feet of office space.

Finance Minister Larry Howai is confident that oil prices will remain stable for the next year. Speaking a post budget forum hosted by the Couva Point Lisas Chamber of Commerce, he forecast a long-term price of oil of around US$100 a barrel. Howai said the problem in Syria would only cause a temporary spike in prices and the biggest threat to the T&T economy would come in the form of possible labour unrest next year if industrial relations are not properly handled.

The minister said investments in the upstream energy sector are important to attract downstream investments and initiatives in the budget focused on the offshore energy sector to ensure it was up and running as steps are taken to diversify the economy. He said investments are made in the downstream sector when investors are guaranteed supplies of natural gas for a specific period. 

He said investors in the past had shied away because they could not be guaranteed a reliable supply of gas. The energy sector contributes $65 billion annually and Howai said the upstream sector can bring in more sources of natural gas to attract investment. In response to questions from chamber members, Howai said payments to contractors continue to be a major bugbear. He said it was not a question of funding but one of government bureaucracy. 

In addition, he said, some contractors who get word of mouth contracts without Cabinet approval are getting trouble to get money. Howai said he was considering pushing back the October 1 date for implementing the 25 per cent tax for vehicles over 2,500cc so that he can meet with car dealers on that matter, as well as tax concessions for hybrid cars.

Economist Mariano Brown, who also spoke at the forum, warned that motorists would not make the switch to CNG as long as diesel remains more commercially viable. He called for institutional strengthening to ensure that plans are carried through. “We need to spend a little more time moving our country from point A to Point B,” Brown said.

Food Production Minister Devant Maharaj says the Government will be spending $3.6 million to boost the aquaculture industry. He also announced plans to revitalise the Fisheries Demonstration Pond at the Bamboo Settlement Aquaculture Demonstration Centre.

Maharaj said aquaculture could create sustainable employment and referred to a Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) report which states that “aquaculture continues to be the fastest-growing animal food producing sector” and in 2010 accounted for nearly half (45.6 per cent) of the world’s food fish consumption, compared with 33.8 per cent in 2000. Maharaj said there have been significant imports of fish and fishery products, in particular, frozen tilapia, which has been contributing to T&T’s high food import bill. 

He said this demand can be met by increasing production in the aquaculture sector. “Approximately 75 per cent of fish farmers can be considered to be subsistence or backyard farmers who, for a number of reasons, are unable to achieve economies of scale and hence commercial and economic viability,” Maharaj said. He said Aquaculture Demonstration Centre will be used for training, field testing and demonstrations. 

In the long term, it will be used to field test the results of research and development toward improving inputs and providing appropriate technology/methodologies for further development of the sector. 

The facilities, to be completed over a period of three years, will include a training room with facilities to accommodate at least 50 people at a time; small-scale and a medium-scale commercial green water re-circulating aquaculture system; raceway-type recirculating fish rearing system; deep water recirculating fish-rearing system; a laboratory area for handling and examination of fishes; and breeding systems and fingerling production for tilapia and cascadura.

Maharaj said during the fiscal year October 2012–September 2013, 234 people have been trained in commercial aquaculture, 43 site visits were conducted for potential farmers and eight new commercial aquaculture farmers have been registered. In addition, five new hatcheries have started production of tilapia fingerlings and the tilapia hatchery facility at Sugarcane Feeds Centre has been expanded to ensure a steady and reliable supply of fingerlings.

Businessman Sieunarine Persad Coosal has called for greater use of local content in the construction sector. In the feature address at Wednesday’s opening of the Coosal’s new corporate headquarters at Madras Road, Cunupia, Coosal said: “I am of the view that greater use of local content, capable of providing the same standards and quality and consistency, will redound to the benefit of  T&T.” “In terms of employment, the multiplier effect will be associated with optimum levels of employment, from engineers to skilled/unskilled labour, to the generation of small business enterprises, from mom and pop establishments to food vendors and suppliers.”

Coosal said there must be a greater level of transparency and accountability in the award of contracts. He said lack of sustainable government projects in the short, medium and long term severely affects future planning of his company’s work force. “Employees have either to be sent home, or incorporated into other divisions as far as we can. The consequences are thus far reaching,” he said. Coosal said a revolutionary and rigorous transformation of the industry’s regulatory and governance infrastructure and commitment is need. He explained that the new location of the corporate head office allows the company to effectively and efficiently lead and manage an expansive range of operation from a “smart building” occupying 40,000 square feet of office space.

“Others Talk, We Deliver” is the mantra of the upcoming local election says Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. The PM was speaking to some of the people selected to represent the party in the upcoming local government election around 10 pm on Friday at the Rienzi Complex, Couva. Persad-Bissessar said opposition parties are trying their best to bombard the population with propaganda that the Government did not do anything for the people of T&T during the past three years. 

She said the PP Government did more than the PNM during its tenure from 2001-2010, while the ILP was only concerned with generating popularity on a platform of lies rather than saying what is its plans. Citing a recent example of lies emanating out of the mouth of Jack Warner, the ILP leader, she said at no time did she speak with talk show host Ian Alleyne over the phone as previously claimed by Warner. Persad-Bissessar said she was abroad when the alleged incident had taken place. 

“I was out of the country. I want to know when did he give me that phone. This is where the green party continues with is campaigns of lies, half truths and innuendos. Today I say, believe nothing coming out of that green platform.” She said expect more lies from the ILP and its leader. “Every time this platform speaks...lies, more lies and more lies. Their job on that platform is not to form the government, not to win seats but to bring down your government.”

Persad-Bissessar said the ILP leader was hardly coming to the Parliament to represent the people of Chaguanas West who elected him into power. The PM also said the PNM complains about the PP’s focus on the development of rural communities. She said if it was left to the PNM, all rural communities would be neglected. “They would not build the highway to Point Fortin.” 

Persad-Bissessar went on to list the countless achievements of the PP Government in infrastructure, education, health and other areas. She said the UNC will be contesting eight regional bodies (Siparia, Penal/Debe, Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo, Mayaro/Rio Claro, Sangre Grande, Chaguanas, San Juan/Laventille). The COP will field candidates jointly with the UNC in five corporations (Diego Martin, Arima, San Fernando, Tunapuna and Port-of-Spain ) and the NJAC will fight jointly with the UNC for seats in Point Fortin.

She advised those selected to hit the ground immediately after hearing their names. She said candidates have until noon tomorrow to file their nomination papers or the party will send a replacement. Persad-Bissessar said she did not want the party to pay for the tardiness of candidates who may miss the boat. She said the UNC will assist candidates by way of T-shirts and election paraphernalia.

Ameen withdraws nomination
Meanwhile, Khadijah Ameen, the chairman of the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation withdrew her nomination. Sources close to Ameen said as chairman of the  UNC she did not want to fight the St Augustine South/Piarco St Helena seat in the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation on a COP ticket. The seat will be contested by Ishwar Mootoo. Ameen said she had no comment on withdrawing her nomination. 

“I am committed to seeing the partnership work. I would be managing Mr Mootoo’s campaign and working with him to ensure the partnership gets the seat.”

Agricultural production is up and an additional 4000 acres will be put into cultivation next year,  Food Production Minister Devant Maharaj has announced. Speaking at the second ceremonial harvest launch of the Caroni Green Initiative at Orange Valley, Couva, Maharaj said the sector expanded by 5.1 per cent over the past year “The contribution of agriculture to the GDP was $345.9 million and has increased by 77 per cent to $610.8 million in 2013,” he said

The minister said there has been a two per cent reduction in the estimated $4 billlion food bill since 2010 and food inflation was at 9.4 per cent in April compared to 29 per cent in May 2010. Speaking about the harvest at Caroni Green, Maharaj said 88,000 pounds of produce has been harvested  and production is up to 30,000 pounds a week. He expects that figure to increase to 50,000 pounds a week within the next two months.

Maharaj said 520 acres is currently in production with an additional 200 being cultivated. He said in November pigeon peas, sorrel, paw paw, root crops, bananas and plantain will be cultivated on 1240 of land and cultivation will be increased to 4000 acres by next year. 
The minister said by the the third phase of the project a total of 5800 acres will be under cultivation.

Head of the T&T Association of Pluckshop Operators, Rasheed Karim, says wholesalers are selling chickens below the average weight and they are too expensive. He says operators are fearful of a shortage of chicken for the Christmas season and are fed up of being held hostage by suppliers. 

Speaking to the media at his Chaguanas businessplace, Karim said for the past 13 weeks local wholesalers and producers of live chickens have been unable to supply large chickens or provide a substantial quantity of smaller birds. He said the chickens currently being sold weigh between 2.7 to 3.5 pounds and are sold wholesale at $6.30 per pound. Karim said pluck shop operators retail the chickens at around $6.25 per pound and make their money from a $10 processing fee to slaughter, pluck and gut the birds. 

He said the pluck shop operators had an emergency meeting this week to discuss the situation. They are worried their might be a shortage of chicken for the Christmas season. In an immediate response, Food Production Minister Devant Maharaj said he had been assurred by poultry suppliers that the situation should normalise by month end.

Foreign used car dealers say they are adversely affected by the ongoing impasse at the Licensing Office in Port-of-Spain. Visham Babwah, president of the TT Automotive Dealers Association (TTADA) said in an interview, “This is having disastrous effects on the automotive industry. Before, we were taking around one month to register a vehicle and get a certified cop. We are not sure how long it will take now.” 

Babwah, who was interviewed at TTADA’s Chaguanas offices added: “There is no registration being done on Port-of-Spain and no numbers have been allocated to the South offices for vehicle registration. We are calling on the relevant authorities to have this situation resolved immediately. This is a situation that did not happen yesterday.” Babwah said the work stoppage by employees may be because of other issues. 

“They have been operating there all the time under the same conditions why now. Are they being misled by people with a political agenda? Politicians opposing the government may be using this situation to create chaos.  Governments and ministers have changed and little was done. “Jack Warner was Minister of Transport and he failed to resolve this issues along with other ministers, Chandresh Sharma and Devant Maharaj and even under the last PNM regime nothing was uplifted."

He said TTADA has been making representation and getting issues resolved at licensing offices throughout without causing a shutdown. Employees at licensing office walked off the job last Tuesday claiming health and safety violations at the facility on Wrightson Road. President of the Public Services Association (PSA) Watson Duke advised the workers that according to the Occupational Safety and Health Act they had a right to walk off the job.

“Watson Duke must also look at the efficiency and attitude of the employees at the license office and resolve that issue immediately,” Babwah said.

Fishermen and farmers affected by bad weather conditions have received $6.4 million from the Government.  Minister of Food Production Devant Maharaj said on Friday that 112 cheques were distributed to farmers affected by floods and 178 cheques to fishermen affected by bad weather. He said in the last financial year, $3.8 million was distributed to farmers affected by floods and approximately 1.8 million dollars went to fishermen.

Maharaj said the initiative was not political. He said, “I urge you not to be fooled by political detractors who claim that this is an election strategy. The Ministry of Food Production under this administration is noted for being an effective and efficient ministry. We have been consistently delivering flood and disaster relief to farmers and fisherfolk since 2010.”

Voting got off to a wet start in Couva today.

Voters who braved the early-morning showers to vote at the Couva AC School complained that EBC staff seemed to have had little training.

One man complained that the lines took too long to move while other voters said they had to stand in the rain under the eaves of the building.

Another complained that even though he had a poll card the poll clerk told him his name was not on the revised list. When the list was doublechecked the man’s name was on the list.

In Chaguanas, former mayor Orlando Nagessar and Dr Surujrattan Rambachan, who both said they voted for their party, the UNC, said the voting process was quite smooth and efficient at the Chaguanas Community Centre and the Montrose Government School where they cast their  respective votes.

Nagessar said he was worried that the rain would keep away voters. Nagessar said he was expecting a higher than the normal 20 per cent turnout for local government elections. Rambachan said he was confident that the electorate would vote for the UNC and said “several” (sic) voters had returned to the PP Government coalition parties.

Voting got off to a wet start in Couva yesterday. Voters who braved the early-morning showers to vote at the Couva AC School complained that EBC staff seemed to have had little training. One man complained that the lines took too long to move while other voters said they had to stand in the rain under the eaves of the building. Another complained that even though he had a poll card the poll clerk told him his name was not on the revised list. When the list was doublechecked the man’s name was on the list.

In Chaguanas, former mayor Orlando Nagessar and Dr Surujrattan Rambachan, who both said they voted for their party, the UNC, said the voting process was quite smooth and efficient at the Chaguanas Community Centre and the Montrose Government School where they cast their  respective votes.

Nagessar said he was worried that the rain would keep away voters. Nagessar said he was expecting a higher than the normal 20 per cent turnout for local government elections. Rambachan said he was confident that the electorate would vote for the UNC and said “several” (sic) voters had returned to the PP Government coalition parties.

Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh said yesterday that teachers who are staying away from classes at the Longdenville Presbyterian School may soon be facing disciplinary action as the matter has been reported to the Teaching Service Commission. The school has been closed for several weeks and teachers have not been reporting for classes. Goopeesingh said he was advised that the matter had been referred to the Teaching Service Commission by the ministry’s permanent secretary and chief education officer. 

The minister accused the teachers of flouting the regulation governing their employment. He claimed the issue which was causing the school to remain closed was not an infrastructural problem but the unwillingness of the teachers to work. Gopeesingh spoke to reporters during a health and wellness fair organised by his Caroni Central constituency and the Helping Hands Foundation at the Madras Government Primary School.

President of the parent/teacher association Candice Marshall said the group had staged three demonstrations demanding that the ministry build a new school for the students. At present school is housed at two venues, with some students attending classes at the Longdenville Presbyterian Church while others are being accommodated at the Longdenville Government School. Marshall said this has been so for more than a decade. “The situations is unsuitable,” she said. 

“There is no room to do the new programmes instituted by the Ministry of Education...the classrooms are too small and unsafe.” Gopeesingh said he was looking forward to working with new TTUTA president Devanand Sinanan to raise the level of the Teaching Service. “We have worked together in the past when he was secretary of TTUTA and we had cordial and progressive discussions in relation to career development and benefits for teachers and students as a whole,” he said.

“I look forward to a collaborative and progressive working relationship for the development of the education system.”

The Independent Liberal Party (ILP) is only willing to negotiate with top officials from rival political parties to strike a deal to elect a mayor for the borough of Chaguanas. So said Jack Warner, the ILP interim leader, to the media after the swearing-in ceremony for councillors and aldermen for the borough yesterday at the Chaguanas Town Hall. Warner said he had been approached by some “lower level persons” from political parties. He added: “I have said to them that I would not be talking to persons at the second level.” 

He said he only wanted to talk to political leaders of parties. However, he said by Wednesday Chaguanas would have a mayor and a deputy mayor. Warner said his candidates who had won seats in the borough had been approached to jump the political ship. He said the councillors had been offered obscene sums of tens of millions of dollars to leave the ILP. The ILP aldermen—Indrawatte Maharaj and Falisha Isahak—were not sworn in on Friday. The UNC and PNM offered Gopaul Boodhan and Aben Phillips respectively as aldermen.

Warner said the documents came at 7.30 pm on Thursday and both Maharaj and Isahak could not get out of other arrangements they had. In the interim Orlando Nagessar would act as Mayor. Nagessar hoped the new team would function as a unit for the benefit of the people of Chaguanas. He said councillors should take their jobs seriously and be seen in the community. He said one of the complaints of burgesses was the absence of councillors.

Fireworks dealers were yesterday expecting to cash in on last minute sales for Divali which is being celebrated today. Nadia Ghany, sales manager at Firepower Fireworks in Chaguanas, said in an interview, “Divali is the biggest sales season of the year for local fireworks dealers and sales have been skyrocketing in recent days.” Ghany said more and more fireworks dealers are entering the  market. 

She said most other items people purchase for the Hindu religious festival can be re-used, such as clothing and electrical lights, fireworks are a one time use commodity. Ghany said consumers spend on an average $300 each for the season. Many dealers were planning to open late yesterday and today offering special bargains to consumers. Ghany said that was one of the major reasons that many consumers held back on purchasing fireworks until the last minute.

There are plans to boost local duck production, Devant Maharaj, Minister of Food  Production, said after he toured Central Farms at Milton Village, Couva. Maharaj said the local market for duck meat is growing. During the period 2000-2010, global demand increased from 2.9 million tonnes to exceed 4.0 million tonnes and global production is expected to increase to 4.5 million tonnes. 

He said the local poultry industry continues to face competition from imported poultry largely due to removal of the import surcharge in 2007 and the removal of the CET in 2006. He said the Government has agreed to reintroduce the import surcharge at a rate of 15 per cent on imported poultry and provide an opportunity for local farmers to meet local demands. Maharaj said there is room for more duck producers to come on board and use technology to increase production.

Collin Wellington, of Central Farms, said his farm cannot produce enough ducks for the local market because of the high demand. He said Central Farms produces 25,000 ducks a month that and they are sold for about $22 a pound live weight. Wellington said production is expected to increase to 40,000 ducks a month as demand increases for the Christmas season. He said Central Farms plans to expand into producing ducklings locally. At present ducklings are imported.

There are plans for more than 400 farmers to cultivate 6,000 acres of unused land in North East and South East Trinidad, Food Production Minister Devant Maharaj has announced. Speaking at the re-commissioning ceremony for the ministry’s Plant Propagation Station at Marpar Farms in Plum Mitan, Manzanilla, Maharaj said plants from the propagation station will be ready in a few months for the ambitious project which is expected to generate hundreds of new jobs, including more than 100 jobs at the Marpar Farms.  

Maharaj said local agriculture will get a boost and he predicts there will be a gradual reduction in the price of fresh local fruits. He said because of the high costs of young trees, many people are staying away from getting involved in tree crop production. 

The minister said in some instances seedling trees can sell for as much as $90 a plant, which is a major disincentive for people interested in this type agriculture. He said because of the high cost of locally grown citrus, school feeding caterers are now supplying apples in the lunches instead of oranges. He said Mapar will be supplying high quality plants of the best genetic potential at reasonable costs.

“Mapar Farms once held a reputation for having the best planting materials. It produced the widest collection of cocoa germplasm world over and functioned as a major part of global conservation efforts in cocoa, mango, avocado, banana and citrus genetic resources.” He said the station was closed down in 1994. In 1992 the Poole substation was closed and the La Pastora propagation station was downsized. 

Maharaj said because of this farmers had to wait as much as five years for a limited supply of seedlings, or had to face the open market and pay exorbitant prices for seedlings. He said the ministry has done a considerable amount of infrastructural work at Marpar Farms, including construction of seven greenhouses. Production of seedling and plants are well underway.

The minister said the agriculture sector expanded by 5.1 per cent this year and its contribution to GDP increased by 77 per cent from 2009 to 2013. He said there has been a two per cent reduction in the food import bill and food inflation stands at three per cent as of September 2013. Currently at Mapar there are:
• 50,000 citrus seedlings
• 20,000 citrus plants
• 15,000 mango seedlings
• 2,000 mango plants
• 160 grafted mango seedlings with 80 varieties introduced from Florida.
• 2,000 avocado seedlings
• 15,000 banana suckers.

Maharaj said the facility is operated by 38 daily paid workers and 23 on-the-job trainees. He said the labour capacity is expected to increase with the hiring of an additional 85 daily paid workers.

Government has commissioned a $1.8 million aquaculture hatchery, extension and training facility at the Sugar Cane Feeds Centre (SFC) in Longdenville, Chaguanas. Food Production Minister Devant Maharaj, in his address at the commissioning ceremony, said the aim is to boost annual production to 475 tonnes over a five-year period. He said imported tilapia contributes to T&T’s food import bill.

The hatchery will have the capacity  to supply an estimated 50 per cent of fingerlings needed to meet the 2015 national tilapia target and reverse the decline in natural and farmed supplies of cascadura. There are plans to expand the hatchery by the next fiscal year to facilitate increased breeding of the black river conch. Maharaj said there is increased consumption of tilapia locally because of a major incentive to market the fish. 

In the last six months, the SFC has purchased more than five tonnes of tilapia from farmers to be processed for local sale. Based on statistics from the SFC, sales have more than doubled to an average of over 1,500 pounds a month. Maharaj said Cabinet has approved plans for construction of a tilapia processing plant at the SFC training facility.

He said the Food Production Ministry plans to increase local cascadura supplies but will keep that information private since the previous efforts to repopulate local stocks at Kernahan, Ortoire, failed because fishermen removed the cascadura fingerlings from the river. Maharaj said the state-operated hatcheries at the SFC will supply provide 1.1 million fingerlings for this project. 

He said there are also plans to regulate and manage natural harvesting for the long term sustainability of the rural micro-industry to stimulate economic activity in rural communities which are dependent on fishing.

There are plans to boost local duck production, Devant Maharaj, Minister of Food  Production, said after he toured Central Farms at Milton Village, Couva. Maharaj said the local market for duck meat is growing. During the period 2000-2010, global demand increased from 2.9 million tonnes to exceed 4.0 million tonnes and global production is expected to increase to 4.5 million tonnes. 

He said the local poultry industry continues to face competition from imported poultry largely due to removal of the import surcharge in 2007 and the removal of the CET in 2006. He said the Government has agreed to reintroduce the import surcharge at a rate of 15 per cent on imported poultry and provide an opportunity for local farmers to meet local demands. Maharaj said there is room for more duck producers to come on board and use technology to increase production.

Collin Wellington, of Central Farms, said his farm cannot produce enough ducks for the local market because of the high demand. He said Central Farms produces 25,000 ducks a month that and they are sold for about $22 a pound live weight. Wellington said production is expected to increase to 40,000 ducks a month as demand increases for the Christmas season. He said Central Farms plans to expand into producing ducklings locally. At present ducklings are imported.

There are plans for more than 400 farmers to cultivate 6,000 acres of unused land in North East and South East Trinidad, Food Production Minister Devant Maharaj has announced. Speaking at the re-commissioning ceremony for the ministry’s Plant Propagation Station at Marpar Farms in Plum Mitan, Manzanilla, Maharaj said plants from the propagation station will be ready in a few months for the ambitious project which is expected to generate hundreds of new jobs, including more than 100 jobs at the Marpar Farms.  

Maharaj said local agriculture will get a boost and he predicts there will be a gradual reduction in the price of fresh local fruits. He said because of the high costs of young trees, many people are staying away from getting involved in tree crop production. 

The minister said in some instances seedling trees can sell for as much as $90 a plant, which is a major disincentive for people interested in this type agriculture. He said because of the high cost of locally grown citrus, school feeding caterers are now supplying apples in the lunches instead of oranges. He said Mapar will be supplying high quality plants of the best genetic potential at reasonable costs.

“Mapar Farms once held a reputation for having the best planting materials. It produced the widest collection of cocoa germplasm world over and functioned as a major part of global conservation efforts in cocoa, mango, avocado, banana and citrus genetic resources.” He said the station was closed down in 1994. In 1992 the Poole substation was closed and the La Pastora propagation station was downsized. 

Maharaj said because of this farmers had to wait as much as five years for a limited supply of seedlings, or had to face the open market and pay exorbitant prices for seedlings. He said the ministry has done a considerable amount of infrastructural work at Marpar Farms, including construction of seven greenhouses. Production of seedling and plants are well underway.

The minister said the agriculture sector expanded by 5.1 per cent this year and its contribution to GDP increased by 77 per cent from 2009 to 2013. He said there has been a two per cent reduction in the food import bill and food inflation stands at three per cent as of September 2013. Currently at Mapar there are:
• 50,000 citrus seedlings
• 20,000 citrus plants
• 15,000 mango seedlings
• 2,000 mango plants
• 160 grafted mango seedlings with 80 varieties introduced from Florida.
• 2,000 avocado seedlings
• 15,000 banana suckers.

Maharaj said the facility is operated by 38 daily paid workers and 23 on-the-job trainees. He said the labour capacity is expected to increase with the hiring of an additional 85 daily paid workers.

Government has commissioned a $1.8 million aquaculture hatchery, extension and training facility at the Sugar Cane Feeds Centre (SFC) in Longdenville, Chaguanas. Food Production Minister Devant Maharaj, in his address at the commissioning ceremony, said the aim is to boost annual production to 475 tonnes over a five-year period. He said imported tilapia contributes to T&T’s food import bill.

The hatchery will have the capacity  to supply an estimated 50 per cent of fingerlings needed to meet the 2015 national tilapia target and reverse the decline in natural and farmed supplies of cascadura. There are plans to expand the hatchery by the next fiscal year to facilitate increased breeding of the black river conch. Maharaj said there is increased consumption of tilapia locally because of a major incentive to market the fish. 

In the last six months, the SFC has purchased more than five tonnes of tilapia from farmers to be processed for local sale. Based on statistics from the SFC, sales have more than doubled to an average of over 1,500 pounds a month. Maharaj said Cabinet has approved plans for construction of a tilapia processing plant at the SFC training facility.

He said the Food Production Ministry plans to increase local cascadura supplies but will keep that information private since the previous efforts to repopulate local stocks at Kernahan, Ortoire, failed because fishermen removed the cascadura fingerlings from the river. Maharaj said the state-operated hatcheries at the SFC will supply provide 1.1 million fingerlings for this project. 

He said there are also plans to regulate and manage natural harvesting for the long term sustainability of the rural micro-industry to stimulate economic activity in rural communities which are dependent on fishing.