Dear Sir,

I would appreciate it if you would publish the following letter in your newspaper.

Within that last month or so an enormous, illegal dumping site has developed on the St Anne's slope of the Lady Chancellor lookout. It can be clearly seen from miles away and, at this present time, already consists of hundreds of tons of building refuse, plastic, glass, and other rubbish.

A few residents have, through their hard work, energy and generosity, transformed Lady Chancellor into a beautiful, 2 mile stretch of road and surroundings. Over the years we have cleared old dumps, prevented new ones, planted trees and shrubs, installed bins and maintained drains and verges. We have also fought fires and prevented hunters from killing the wildlife. Our tiny team of 2 or 3 men continuously maintain the entire 2-mile stretch for the enjoyment of residents and the thousands - yes, THOUSANDS of recreational users on a daily basis, but in this instance, we are impotent.

Within that last month or so an enormous, illegal dumping site has
developed on the St Anne's slope of the Lady Chancellor lookout. It
can be clearly seen from miles away and, at this present time,
already consists of hundreds of  tons of building refuse, plastic,
glass, and other rubbish.

A few residents have, through their hard work, energy and generosity,
transformed Lady Chancellor into a beautiful, 2 mile stretch of road
and surroundings. Over the years we have cleared old dumps, prevented
new ones, planted trees and shrubs, installed bins and maintained
drains and verges. We have also fought fires and prevented hunters
from killing the wildlife. Our tiny team of 2 or 3 men continuously
maintain the entire 2-mile stretch for the enjoyment of residents and
the thousands - yes, THOUSANDS of recreational users on a daily
basis, but in this instance, we are impotent.

Judging from the vast amount of detritus that has been pitched over
the side in a relatively short space of time, it would appear that

Our guest columnist in this two-part series is world expert on dengue, Professor Dave D Chadee from the Department of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies who questions the dengue control strategies used in Trinidad.

The extreme damage from floodwaters in the North and North West is, quite rightly, very much in the forefront of the news. My concern is that the numerous public and private debates are focusing almost entirely on quarries, or the neglectful planning and construction practices by developers, private homeowners and squatters. These are, without doubt, a major contributing factor, but few people are talking about the continued destruction of ancient watersheds and river systems caused by PREVENTABLE annual fires.

This week guest columnist VASANT BHARATH, Food Production, Land and Marine Affairs ends his six-part series in this space on food security by telling us how Government is supporting and encouraging the fishing industry to move towards sustainable operations.

The marine fisheries of Trinidad and Tobago provide fish protein, employment and revenue for the country. Incentives are now provided to support fishing operations consistent with sustainable use of fisheries resources. Greater emphasis is now being placed on upgrading fishing vessels and supporting infrastructure to conform with national regulations and international fish safety and sanitary standards. This, while we upgrade our fish landing sites, with the provision of basic amenities, such as running water, toilet facilities, electricity, lockers and cold storage. Aquaculture is regarded as a means of reducing fishing pressure on stocks of fish by providing an alternative fish protein source. We are promoting commercial aquaculture through the provision of a package of incentives that now encourage investment in the sector.  

This week guest columnist VASANT BHARATH Minister of Food Production, Land and Marine Affairs continues the fourth of his six-part series in this space on the vital question of food security and sustainable environmentally friendly development.

The Ministry of Food Production, Land and Marine Affairs is providing leadership in the area of sustainable food production. In my previous articles, I outlined the programmes and activities currently being pursued by my Ministry to do just that. The United Nations declared 2011 as The International Year of Forests and 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity. This, if nothing else, signalled the importance of the international conversation on our environment and the critical role it plays in our lives. The Government’s policy document states explicitly that “there can be no sustainable development without respect for the environment.” In recognition of this, the Livestock and Livestock Products Board (LLPB), housed under the Ministry of Food Production, Land and Marine Affairs, hosted a workshop in February this year, titled Livestock Waste Management and the Environment.

This week guest columnist VASANT BHARATH Minister, Food Production, Land and Marine Affairs continues the third of his six-part series in this space on food security. He tackles the question of how the Government means to back farmers to go local.

Agriculture is a business and my Government is committed to providing the enabling environment to encourage entrepreneurs in this sector. Traditionally, agriculture is not seen as an attractive career choice. We have been acculturated to think that work with the hands is menial. But agriculture is not only work with the hands. Traditional agriculture may in fact be so, but we have highly mechanised and technologically advanced systems that currently exist.

This week, guest columnist VASANT BHARATH, Food Production, Land and Marine Affairs continues the second of his six part series in this space on the vital question of food security.

We are rehabilitating over one hundred kilometres of agricultural access roads impacting on approximately two thousand eight hundred (2,800) hectares of agricultural land, while providing new access roads in foodcrop areas. We are currently engaged in the construction of ponds, sluice structures, desilting of drains, establishment of crossings, and acquisition of mobile pumps for irrigation. This along with the installation of drip irrigation systems to optimise the use of water.

This week guest columnist VASANT BHARATH Minister of Food Production, Land and Marine Affairs continues his six part series in this space on what incentives the government is giving farmers towards the national goal of food security.

In October, we will commence a programme to bring on board fifty University agricultural graduates on an annual basis through our Young Professional in Agriculture Development and Mentoring Programme. The major objective of which is to provide structured, focused and closely monitored opportunities for these tertiary level graduates to be mentored in agriculture and related studies. Allowing them to be productive contributors to the development of the agricultural sector. We continue our “home gardening” initiative primarily through community based training. We are soon to launch an advertising campaign to encourage nationals to grow their immediate agriculture needs.

For the next six weeks in our environmental series “Cleaning Up The Mess” our columnist is VASANT BHARATH Minister of Food Production, Land and Marine Affairs, who has been working tirelessly to create food security in this country.

Between 17 to 20 per cent of our people in Trinidad and Tobago, that is, over 200,000 people live below the poverty line, on less than twelve TT dollars a day. Numerous international studies have shown that those at greatest risk of being hungry or food insecure live in households that are headed by a single woman or those with incomes below the poverty line. For families in poverty, food is often the first thing cut out of budgets when faced with high rent, utility bills, and medical expenses. At some time during the year, these households were uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, enough food to meet the needs of all their members because they had insufficient money or other resources.