Raphael John-Lall
Agriculture consultant Riyadh Mohammed is calling for a sharper focus on the economic returns from Government spending on agriculture, arguing that the upcoming national budget must move beyond its traditional focus on allocation money to measuring how effectively those investments translate into production, stronger farm businesses and greater food security.
The national budget for fiscal year 2027 will be presented on October 12.
Mohammed told the Sunday Business Guardian that the fiscal exercise should provide an opportunity to strengthen existing agricultural initiatives while closing implementation gaps and making public spending more targeted, transparent and measurable.
The Sunday Business Guardian also reached out to the President of the Agricultural Society of Trinidad and Tobago (ASTT) Daryl Rampersad, but he did not reply up to press time.
Mohammed noted that agriculture has received attention in recent fiscal years, with initiatives aimed at supporting farmers, improving infrastructure, encouraging alternative food production and addressing threats to the sector.
But he said the central issue should be whether that spending is producing measurable economic results.
“The key question is whether public investment in agriculture consistently translates into increased local production, viable farm businesses, reduced import dependence, and enhanced national food security,” he said.
From allocations to measurable returns
Mohammed wants the Government to focus on using public resources more efficiently.
He pointed to several areas of agricultural spending in recent budgets, including incentives, infrastructure, renewable-energy support, pest management, youth programmes, land management and fisheries.
For fiscal 2023, he noted that agriculture was identified as a major allocation area, with a reported $1.33 billion across the wider sector, alongside a $300 million stimulus package for agricultural incentives, infrastructure and programmes.
He also highlighted support for alternative wheat-flour products, renewable-energy rebates for approved agricultural holdings and measures to combat pests such as the giant African snail and Moruga locusts.
Fiscal 2024 continued the focus, with the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries receiving approximately $951.6 million, including $225.65 million for development programmes. An additional $400 million was identified for agriculture, including $250 million for farmer incentives and $150 million for infrastructure through the Palo Seco Agricultural Enterprises Company.
For Mohammed, however, the size of allocations is only one part of the equation.
“Budgets are statements of intention. Food production is the evidence of execution,” he said.
He is therefore calling for greater scrutiny of what agricultural expenditure actually delivers on the ground, including the amount of land returned to production, improvements to farm infrastructure, the number of farmers remaining in production and the quantities of crops, livestock, fish and processed products generated.
Mohammed said agricultural support programmes reportedly benefitted farmers, fishermen and agricultural workers between 2020 and June 2024, while the Agricultural Incentive Programme alone reportedly provided more than $60 million in subsidies to more than 9,541 farmers.
That level of support, he said, should be recognised as evidence that farmers have received assistance.
However, he argued that measuring the number of beneficiaries is insufficient for determining whether public investment is generating a stronger agricultural economy.
The focus, he said, should also be on whether farmers increased output and productivity, reduced waste, created employment, improved their operations, adopted better agricultural practices and gained access to stable markets.
Connecting incentives to markets
Mohammed is also proposing a more integrated approach to agricultural infrastructure and incentives, with spending linked to the requirements of commercial production and the wider food supply chain.
Among the questions he wants addressed in the upcoming budget are whether incentives will be aligned with priority commodities, import-replacement opportunities and verified market demand.
He is also calling for greater transparency and simpler processes for farmers seeking grants, rebates, concessions, land and technical services.
Infrastructure is another major area of concern.
Mohammed wants greater funding and clearer plans for irrigation, drainage, water harvesting, protected agriculture and climate-resilient production. He is also asking for specific timelines for agricultural roads, drainage systems, landing sites, irrigation schemes, packinghouses, abattoirs and cold-storage facilities.
He argues that individual infrastructure projects cannot be viewed in isolation.
“Public infrastructure should be planned as complete value-chain systems,” Mohammed said. “A road without drainage, irrigation without farm management support, production without market access, or a market without cold storage will not achieve the intended result.”
That approach would place greater emphasis on connecting farmers to processors, logistics providers, buyers and consumers rather than treating agricultural production as an activity that ends at the farm gate.
Mohammed is also calling for stronger links between local producers and hotels, schools, hospitals, supermarkets, manufacturers and export markets.
The objective is to create a more commercially viable agricultural sector in which public investment helps farmers produce at scale while providing reliable markets for their output.
Data, technology and accountability
Another major component of Mohammed’s proposals is the development of a stronger agricultural data system.
He wants T&T to establish a national system capable of capturing information on farm locations, acreage, commodities, production volumes, input use, water access, market channels and losses.
The purpose would be to give policymakers better information for deciding where scarce public resources should be directed.
Mohammed is also proposing a tiered incentive system that distinguishes between new and small farmers requiring starter support and established commercial producers seeking to expand production.
“A farmer producing 500 kilograms of tomatoes and a farmer consistently supplying 50,000 kilograms should not necessarily receive the same form or type of support,” he said.
Increasing production
The Government must make a major shift in its approach to agriculture and focus on increasing domestic production, according to Sheep and Goat Farmers Association President Shiraz Khan.
He said in the upcoming budget, he wants the Government to implement policies that would assist this objective.
Khan, who has been involved in farming since he was 11 and is now 65, said the agricultural sector has suffered a prolonged decline in production and government attention.
He pointed to the dairy industry as a major example, giving data which shows that there has been a sharp decline in this sector over the last 25 years.
“In 2000s, we were producing over 14 million litres of milk; today, we’re down to 1 million liters per year. Over a 25-year period, production collapsed,” Khan said.
He also highlighted the decline in rice production. Khan said T&T once produced about almost half of the rice consumed locally, but now imports virtually all of its requirements.
“We were producing 40 per cent of the rice consumed in the country, but now we’re down to none.”
Khan said the Government’s priority in the upcoming budget should be to create conditions that allow farmers to increase production rather than simply providing financial incentives.
“I don’t want money from the government. I want an enabling environment: proper roads to lands, road access, and the return of the Mon Jaloux project so farmers can cut grass,” he said.
He wants Government to address praedial larceny, reduce the dependence on agricultural imports, provide protection for local producers and improve the genetic pool for livestock.
“If you want people to produce, tell us how you will deal with predial larceny, cut back on imports, provide protectionism and increase production.”
He also called for greater investment in agriculture, arguing that the sector cannot continue receiving comparatively limited resources.
“Allocate more money to agriculture, but money without a plan makes no sense.”
Khan also emphasised that infrastructure is one of the immediate obstacles facing farmers, pointing to poor roads serving dairy-producing communities. He said farmers transporting milk from Carlsen Field, Turure and Wallerfield face high vehicle maintenance costs because of the condition of the roads.
He also linked the decline in agricultural production to the difficulty of attracting younger people into farming.
“Incentives alone do not make production grow; you have to put the necessary systems in place.”
