Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley officially commissioned the Tucker Valley Shade House Project at the Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA) Agricultural Park in Tucker Valley, Chaguaramas, on Thursday.
Speaking at the ceremony on Thursday, Dr Rowley, who owns a goat farm in Mason Hall, Tobago, said the COVID-19 pandemic showed the critical importance of food security.
"For those of you who are here…you would have noticed that this exercise, which is now generating tangible outcomes, is a whole of government approach…it's not just a whole of government…it's a whole of society approach. "The list of government agencies involved here goes to show that if we're going to get certain things done, it cannot be done in a silo, and the more you have outreach, the better your chances."
"During COVID, there was a time where even if we had the money, and we did have the money, we could not place orders for food…the people who had it were not prepared to sell it to us. Even persons who had marketing arrangements for decades, the suppliers…when they wanted to place an order, they were simply ignored or told stand in the back of the line…it was a very frightening experience…we knew for a fact that…those who had were not prepared to share with us…and those who shared, immediately, the prices became astronomical. This attracted the attention of CARICOM Heads of Government…this issue of food availability was a major concern."
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