Dr Marlene Attzs
Independent Senator and weekly Farmers’ Market patron
On almost any weekend in Trinidad and Tobago, a public space is transformed into an Expo, a festival, a charity walk or a sporting event. These occasions enrich our communities. But increasingly they also leave another group bearing the cost - our farmers.
Recent events have once again highlighted the frustration of farmers and agricultural vendors who have been displaced from long-established market locations to accommodate other activities. The experiences were strikingly similar - farmers reported significant declines in sales after being relocated because many of their regular customers simply did not know where to find them.
While the recent relocation of the Port-of-Spain Farmers’ Market at the Queen’s Park Savannah brought the issue into sharp focus, it is by no means an isolated occurrence. Whether the occasion is an Expo, a public celebration or one of the increasingly popular 5K events, farmers are often among the first groups expected to make way. Market spaces that sustain livelihoods, connect producers with consumers and support local food production are treated as temporary conveniences rather than essential economic infrastructure.
It raises an important question: why are the people who help feed the nation so often expected to bear the cost of competing demands on our public spaces?
To be clear, the issue is not whether Trinidad and Tobago should host Expos, festivals or charity walks and runs. We absolutely should. These events bring significant social and economic benefits. The real issue is whether we have developed a planning approach that recognises multiple legitimate public interests and creates space for both to thrive.
This is fundamentally about balance. Good public policy is rarely about choosing one legitimate interest over another. More often, it is about designing practical solutions that allow competing interests to coexist and flourish.
Farmers spend years earning the trust of loyal customers through quality produce, fair prices and personal relationships. When they are relocated with little notice or to unfamiliar locations, those relationships are disrupted overnight. Unlike larger businesses with advertising budgets or multiple outlets, many small farmers depend almost entirely on repeat customers and a consistent location to sustain their livelihoods.
The Savannah Farmers’ Market is more than a place where produce is bought and sold. It has become a community space where people from all walks of life interact, socialise and build lasting relationships with farmers and fellow patrons. Those relationships represent a form of social capital that cannot simply be relocated overnight and deserve consideration alongside the market’s economic contribution.
The implications, however, extend well beyond the individual farmer. Every missed sale is income that cannot be reinvested in seeds, fertiliser, irrigation equipment or labour. Every tray of vegetables that spoils because produce cannot be sold represents not only a personal financial loss but also a reduction in the productive capacity of our agricultural sector. At a time when Trinidad and Tobago continues to grapple with an unsustainably high food import bill, strengthening domestic food production is no longer simply an agricultural objective - it is an economic imperative.
Decisions about market access should never be viewed as mere logistical exercises. They are economic policy decisions with consequences for household incomes, employment, rural communities and, ultimately, national food security. Every government policy document speaks of reducing the food import bill and strengthening domestic agriculture. Achieving those objectives requires more than policy statements. It requires practical decisions that support farmers’ ability to earn a reliable living and maintain consistent access to markets.
Yet supporting agriculture requires more than speeches on World Food Day or commitments announced during the national budget. It requires policies that recognise the daily realities facing the men and women who produce our food. Food security begins with farmers who can earn a reliable living. If we continually undermine their ability to access markets, we weaken the very agricultural sector we claim to support.
The solution is neither difficult nor unreasonable. It requires better planning, consultation and coordination. Event organisers, municipal corporations, agricultural agencies and farmers’ organisations should work together well in advance of major events.
Consider the practical realities facing a farmer. Produce destined for the weekend market is often harvested and prepared several days in advance, with labour hired and transportation arranged. To inform farmers on Thursday or Friday that the Saturday market has been cancelled or relocated is to transfer the burden of poor planning onto those least able to absorb it.
Farmers routinely receive advance notice from the authorities when markets close for public holidays, allowing them to adjust harvesting schedules and notify customers. The same principle should apply whenever market spaces are required for national or corporate events. Predictability and timely communication are hallmarks of good planning and respect for those whose livelihoods depend on these markets.
Where relocation is unavoidable, alternative sites should be equally visible, properly signposted and widely communicated well before the event. Better still, permanent market spaces should be identified so that farmers are not repeatedly displaced whenever another activity is scheduled.
As the Savannah calendar becomes increasingly populated with recreational events, are we making sufficient provision for the economic activities that sustain farmers and families every day? Public spaces must accommodate recreation, commerce, culture and community. One should not consistently come at the expense of the other.
Whenever decisions are made about the use of public spaces, those whose livelihoods are affected should have a place at the table before decisions are taken. Farmers ask for no special privilege - only fairness, predictability and recognition of their contribution to national development. A country that values food security must also value the people who make it possible. That is not simply good planning; it is good public policy.
