Modern Technologies for Cassava Production
Senator the Honorable Devant Maharaj, Minister of Food Production led a mission of Ministry officials to Cali, Colombia to observe modern technologies for Cassava Production, Processing and utilization. The delegation included officials from the Cassava Commodity Task Force at the Ministry and officials from NAMDEVCO.
One of the strategic staple commodities targeted by the Ministry of Food Production for special focus is cassava. The Ministry has already entered into several Public Private Partnership arrangements that would create sustainable added value food systems that would link farmers to markets.
As such, this mission provided a unique opportunity for the delegates to meet with officials from the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the Latin America and Caribbean Consortium to Support Cassava Research and Development (CLAYUCA).
The Trinidad and Tobago delegation was exposed to the latest techniques and research in the cassava industry. Further, the Minister was taken on a tour of a modern small-medium size cassava processing facility based at CIAT.
The Minister of Food Production noted that the insights gained from this mission would contribute significantly to the current efforts being under-taken in Trinidad and Tobago to develop the cassava sub-sector.