PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, Sept. 29, 2014 – The Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) and the Trinidad and Tobago Coconut Industry Cooperative Society Limited have signed an agreement which will see CARDI being involved in the development of a resurging commodity.
Speaking of the potential in this sector, CARDI’s Executive Director Dr. Arlington Chesney said the region should “think not just about the coconut industry, but about the coconut tree industry as there are many other things that can be derived from the coconut tree and be profitable to the entrepreneur.”
This Society receives CARDI’s support as it is an example of how “we can organise ourselves as farmers so that we can be heard, which delivers equity along the value chain.”
Pranesh Maharaj, President of the Society, with some 300 members, said it plans to “platform coconut as an alternative food crop…because coconut has a global demand due to its health and other therapeutic value.”
The goal of the Society is to bring the local coconut industry up to a functional and productive standard, with the help of the Ministry of Food Production and CARDI.
Maharaj called on regional partners to join this coconut production initiative.
The agreement comes at the end of a two-day regional value chain workshop which was executed as part of a collaborative project between the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation ACP-EU (CTA) and CARDI titled: “Developing capacity to analyse and strengthen root and tuber value chains in the Caribbean Region, for improved food security”.
Beneficiaries of this project are Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica, St. Kitts, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, and Trinidad & Tobago.
The emphasis on roots and tubers is as a result of its recognition in the Caribbean Region as a major contributor in reducing the food import bill and as a substitute; along with increasing regional food and nutrition security.
Photo: Mr. Pranesh Maharaj and Dr. Arlington Chesney sign the Agreement
