World Food Day Tobago 2009

Image taken from the daily newspaper Newsday.

I visited the Tobago House of Assembly’s event for the World Food Day celebrations at Friendsfield football field car park and came away with distinct impressions that reinforced some old thoughts. (The gathering of Tobago farmers and food suppliers took place just before the weekend of the 24th, 9.00 am – ’til.)

It was another grand THA sponsored something, and I ask if it was relevant? The short answer is ‘Yes’. Of course! I also ask if it could be improved. Short answer – Yes, again. The long of it is – How? Here are my thoughts. You know how it works. My blog, my thoughts.

Agriculture is a hard business. Working in the fields was always drudgery – shows like the World Food Day bashes merely serve to highlight the loneliness of working early dawns and late dusks, which is the routine of  the more prolific gardeners. Furthermore, it leaves not a lot for them at the end of the glam. Farmers go back to the work, and the industry, and the salaried agro-experts goes back into stasis.

It could be different. As ‘man in the city’ slowly comes to understand that in this era he cannot eat dollars, the role for food producers need to be bolstered. It’s never been easier. It could be nice to give recognition for ‘Joe the Farmer’ as well as people do for Barack Obama  ( The Peace Prize? puhleese!) . One feeds kids, one takes food out of their mouths – I digress. I know! (but it’s my blog!)

I guess I’ll solve that issue of making ‘real jobs’ for people in cities on another post, but let’s get back to making those shows more sticky, more beneficial, to the farmers. I think the competition aspect is a good approach. The chance of huge cash rewards and a limousine ride through Scarborough because I have the biggest cassava in Tobago holds merit for me. As a competing farmer for 2010, I’d also take damn good care of my field, agroforest, and livestock in the interim.

Organic Food stalls were in short supply in the event. Why? The chemical suppliers for traditonal farm ops were there of course – they always are. God, who is the organic supplier par excellence was also there, but as usual he stayed in the background. Time for the organic front to raise their heads I think. Organics in a show is a guaranteed showstopper - *Organic Tip. Do not  eating wild payaya in an unprepared state unless you seek relief from constipation .

Then there’s the agro forestry side of a national food event like this years THA production. The typical shows never have forestry products. However balata, wild figs, yam, mango, guava, sucrier, coconut  (to name a few) could run alongside a cocoa display. Cocoa is a fine plant, portable enough for display to a late stage, and can give a lift to plot farming in this type of events – can give a lift to the cocoa (and coffee) industry. I think the agriculture marketing sector only needs to think a bit harder along those lines.

The logic I follow is already part of the organizers thinking, even if they were a bit flawed in their implmentation. This weekend there were huge displays of tractors, tillers and other extensive farm plot tools. What a waste of space. The only tractors sold in Tobago ever, were to the Agriculture division. In the future the only tractors sold will be to the agriculture division.

Foresty is a part of farming, as much as tractors are – in other parts of the world. Tobago doesn’t have room for many tractors to earn (scratch or even plough)  a living so it’s fitting the few which are needed remains state property. In any case most land is of insecure tenure (documented) so it’s hard to see itinerants forking over money for a John Deere, JCB, Komatsu or somesuch.         

Why not next year?  
A donkey display would have been better therefore – It would have drawn the crowd – no one spent too long a time looking at the tractors except my wife – but then she looks at Mac trucks too –  Donkeys hold the secret to Tobago accessing the abandoned lands in far away places. Donkeys can earn tourism dollars as well as haulage fees for cocoa beans, donkeys can bring seaweed in for fertilizer – get my drift?

One other thing as I unashamedly push my case for Equus asinus. The land tenure thing?  The no-road access thing? If you were to use a donkey to get to your field in the back of Ohieeoyoh you’d not have trouble too much to gaily trespass through some ones land – even daily. That is something you cannot do with a tractor or a Toyota. There’s some old Brit laws that govern that sort of thing, and they still exist for us horse and donkey folk. (I know- another post).    

All I’m really saying is the attendant issues and items to stabilize Tobago’s food security can be displayed, and if displayed well, then it will help to dispel food (sic) insecurity. Let’s biggup Joe the Farmer. There’s more to the World Food day event that needs attending if one were to follow my train of thought.

Look at holding pens or coops  for the (food animals) which find themselves suffering at the show. Why not use bamboo displays then? Bamboo is a resource, can be made by artisans, and those same artisans can derive income from the THA for creating standardized pens, cages whatever. I bet a bamboo stall would be cooler than those tents were last Friday!

Personally I hope we stop importing plastic and begin making more use of bamboo in our cottage industries. It looks better than plastic anyday, is recyclable (just dump it out in the manure heap when rotted past use).  I know pr oduce, livestock and other animals certainly look great with bamboo surrounds.)  I mean, the people stuck with plastics doesn’t have all our options, do they? 

The best cage at the Tobago 2009 World Food Day Show for a food animal was the Sugar Cane Feed Mills imported galvanized rack of metal rabbit pens. Sustainable example it certainly wasn’t. And as I close; (Are rabbits food?) My instinct as a child made me to play with the rabbit, eat the apple. All the kids I saw at the show were patting the bunnies. My World Food Day 2009 tour ended successfuly though.