ADB to provide $25 million to Tobago farmers

Special consideration will be given to young people in Tobago who wish to become agriculturists.  This will be part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to be negotiated between representatives of the Tobago House of Assembly and the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB).  This was agreed upon at a 90-minute meeting attended by THA Chief Secretary, Orville London and the Chairman of ADB, Rudy Maharaj, at the Calder Hall Administration Complex on Tuesday.

 THA Secretary of Agriculture, Marine Resources, Marketing and the Environment, Hilton Sandy, who also attended the meeting, said the Administrator in the THA Division of Planning Ethlyn John will represent the assembly on the joint committee that would prepare a working document as a basis for the MOU. 
The draft will be discussed with Tobago farmers before it is signed. Sandy said Tobago had begun to concentrate on greenhouse farming to boost the island’s agricultural sector.

Maharaj said the bank had a fund of $150 million, of which Tobago was allocated $25 million, to provide low interest loans to would-be and seasoned farmers.  He emphasised land tenure was no longer the main criteria to qualify for an unsecured loan of up to $50,000 to buy seedlings, fertilisers and small tools.  However, farmers must be registered with the agriculture office in their areas. The rate of interest has been reduced from between six per cent and eight per cent to between three per cent and five per cent.

He said one of the major problems in Tobago was untenured land and access to title because some farmers in Tobago did not have legal access to land to be used as security for loans.  He added that Sandy had given the commitment that the assembly would deal with that problem since those resources were idle and therefore, unproductive.  “We must deal with this problem if we are to reduce prices and move agriculture forward, Maharaj added. ADB's Director Norris Deonarine said the development of agriculture in Tobago was close to the heart of the members of the new board.

“We would like to see Tobago resuming its role in agriculture and playing its part in feeding the nation,” he stressed. He said the Board was intent on targeting the youth and wanted to see a new generation of farmers in the country.