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What are some issues that affect agriculture in Trinidad and Tobago?

What are some issues that affect agriculture in Trinidad and Tobago?

The main environmental issues affecting agriculture in Trinidad are the high use of agricultural chemicals, and their disposal, particularly in vegetable growing areas, and hazards, such as forest fires and soil erosion, associated with agricultural squatters on forested hillsides.

What are the major problems in agriculture?

Five Major Challenges Facing North American Agriculture

  • Resource Depletion: The Costs of Industrial Agriculture.
  • Land Management: Degrading and Undervaluing Farmland.
  • Food Waste: Compromising Food Security.
  • Demographic Changes: A Disconnected Public.
  • Political Issues: The Business of Food.

What are three major issues in agriculture today?

Top 10 Issues for Farmers in 2020

  • Climate change.
  • The ongoing trade war between the United States and China.
  • Rapidly depleting reserves of freshwater around the world.
  • The looming food crisis.
  • Economic insecurity in the United States.

What is agriculture in Trinidad and Tobago?

Trinidad and Tobago – Agriculture Crops include corn, rice, peas, beans, potatoes, other vegetables, and a wide variety of fruits. Lowland rice is grown almost entirely by Indian farmers. The large estates are interested mainly in commercial export crops, although the small farmers also grow some export crops.

Why is agriculture important for Trinidad?

Although the agricultural sector contributes only 0.5% to Trinidad and Tobago’s GDP, it accounts for over 4% of employment and is important for the diversification of the economy. At the same time, total transfers arising from agricultural policy amounted to only 0.34% of the national GDP.

What are the problems of modern agriculture?

Modern Agriculture Problems

  • Monoculture. Modern agriculture emphasizes crop specialization, also known as monoculture.
  • Genetic Engineering.
  • Erosion.
  • Pollution and Silt.
  • Pesticide Resistance.
  • Fertilizers and Eutrophication.
  • Water Depletion.
  • Soil Salinization.

Why is agriculture a problem in Trinidad and Tobago?

Farmers have complained for years of their inability to produce food as cheap as those that are imported, hence foreign goods are sold cheaper on the local market. Additionally, agriculture has proved unattractive to many of the country’s young people and to its black population.

How many tractors did Trinidad and Tobago have?

Although agriculture was increasingly mechanized, it was still relatively labor intensive. According to the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization, Trinidad and Tobago had only 2,500 tractors in use in 1983, or only 8 tractors per 1,000 hectares.

How big are the farms in Trinidad and Tobago?

According to the most recent agricultural census from the early 1970s, there were over 35,000 farms on Trinidad and Tobago, occupying nearly 130,000 hectares. The average farm had 6 hectares, but the 40 largest farms were extremely large, all over 400 hectares. Landholdings were usually of two kinds.

Who is the Minister of Agriculture in Trinidad and Tobago?

During the recent presentation of the 1996 national budget, Agriculture Minister Reeza Mohammed noted that the food production sector was to be one of the pillars for national development.

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