Food & Water...

Predictions of an impending global food crisis made even before the Japanese catastrophe is gaining traction with those who would know and yet nary a word of preventative advice from the Government of Trinidad & Tobago.

Why are we not mobilizing the combined resources of the public and private sectors to plant sturdy fruit and vegetable trees on all idle State land to help the people prepare to weather the coming storm?

Why are we not encouraging homeowners to replace flowering and ornamental plants with food bearing trees on private property so as to supplement dietary needs?

A comprehensive food crisis plan apart and aside from the established farming sector should be enunciated so as to encourage the citizenry to get involved in their own salvation should the worst occur.

As scary as this is, it is compounded by an anticipated extra dry 2012 and predicted drought, yet for all the talk of retention ponds and dams we are losing the largest proportion of our potable drinking water through concrete drains to the sea and nothing is being said about it.

Will we eat oil and drink gas?

The people of this country need to be led where these matters of grave importance are concerned and this Government needs to get its act together.

Let us declare the management equivalent of a 'State of Emergency' on food and water and set goals of basic sustainability; Let us take steps to retain at least two dry seasons worth of fresh water through the construction of one main dam in central and tributary retention dams along the east west corridor so as to hold water supplies and to provide an immediate boost to the construction sector.

Let us mobilize Caroni Limited and all of its resources to farming, processing and storage of bulk grain so as to offset any feed and other livestock affecting shortages that may occur.

Existing farmers should be provided with water tanks and must meet stringent standards according to a water use policy again enunciated by Government.

New farmers need to develop their farms around effective water management and recycling systems so as to maximize water use.

All State organizations should be mandated to provide food production support by way of identifying and mobilizing resources, and all homeowners should be required to plant as many food bearing trees and shrubbery as they could through plant subsidies.

We have a brief window of time to deal with this and we ought not to play politics with such an important issue.  Let us not find ourselves hungry and thirsty a year or two from now with nowhere to turn and no one to blame but ourselves.


The time for action is already upon us, and we need to start now, before we end up using words like famine and drought to describe our condition. 


Something to think about...