Farmers mourn Deonarine’s passing

Farmers across T&T are mourning the sudden death of National Food Crop Association (NFFA) leader Norris Deonarine who succumbed to heart failure after visiting brutalised farmers of Lopinot on Thursday. President of the Cane Producers Association Seukaran Tambie, who spoke to Deonarine before his death, said Deonarine was frustrated over the beating.

“He called me to say that this was the sad state our country had reached, where innocent farmers are attacked in this way,” Tambie recalled.  Saying he never expected that Deonarine would suffer a heart attack later that night, Tambie said Deonarine always appeared to be full of energy. “It was very shocking to find out what has happened…He has always been on the job, a chief advocate for farmers,” Tambie said. “Whenever he raised the plight of farmers he was at the forefront.

“Norris’s death will leave a void in the farming sector…He provided a voice for the farmers and also for the disadvantaged people of T&T.” Tambie also said Deonarine had a dream to unite all farmers across the country. Meanwhile, University of the West Indies (UWI) lecturer Wayne Kublalsingh said Deonarine was always consistent in his struggles to represent farmers. He added that Deonarine’s objective was to strive for food security.