Piggot accuses farmers of "raiding" the treasury

Agriculture Minister Arnold Piggot told the nation recently that it is time to eat plantain instead of rice as a means of fighting food inflation. And Friday in the House of Representatives he accused farmers of deliberately planting crops in flood prone areas to fleece the government of compensation for damage to their produce.

Piggot spoke about an apparent conspiracy by farmers to plant near rivers and other areas susceptible to flooding, knowing they would suffer a loss when the rains come, so that they could "raid the Treasury".

The former High Commissioner to Canada who was asked to leave Ottawa after a police matter and rewarded with a promotion on his return home, was speaking in Parliament on a motion on high food prices.

"We also have people who go and plant on river banks or coastal rivers or flood-prone areas, knowing that there will be flood, The minister told members and asked this question: "Are they planting to produce food for the people of T&T, or are they planning a claim on the Government to raid the Treasury?"

His shocking comments drew an immediate response from the president of the National Foodcrop Association Norris Deonarine who condemned the minister's statement as being based on ignorance and arrogance.

Deonarine told the Trinidad Guardian it is unthinkable that anyone would invest months of labour and spend money on land preparation and fertilizers to plant food crops that could yield thousands of dollars in the market to deliberately see them destroyed for the pittance of $600-$800 they get from government long after the fact.

He accused the government of deliberately destroying productive farmlands in acts of discrimination against farmers.

On two occasions this year government bulldozers destroyed farmers' crops to clear lands with crops ready for harvest to make way for housing developments. In both instances farmers were never advised of the state's intentions and bulldozers showed up unannounced and knocked down everything in sight.

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Deonarine said instead of trying to make scapegoats out of farmers, the Government should embrace them and use their skills and expertise to help reduce the cost of food.

In making his case, Piggott told the House that in south Trinidad farmers have made 340 claims for flood assistance. He said authorities have investigated 331 of them and determined that only 195 of them were valid.

He said in the north investigators have looked into 761 of the 803 applications for compensation but did not say how many have been deemed valid and what number is "bogus". Without giving specifics, he says compensation claims have been "substantial".

Despite his attack on the farming community the minister claimed that his government is encouraging citizens to invest in the land and take up agriculture.

"What we don’t want them to do is to behave in an illegal and indisciplined manner in terms of dealing with agriculture,” Piggott explained.

In defence of the Manning administration's handling of escalating food prices Piggot said government "facilitates food-crop production" and again pointed fingers at farmers, accusing them of contributing to food inflation because of a "lack of transparency" in the pricing mechanisms.

Piggott said the country does not have the capacity to become self-sufficient and explained that in recognition of that the government is working with Guyana on the Jagdeo initiative to develop in Trinidad and and Tobago and the region a sustainable agricultural sector and reduce food imports.

Piggott boasted that he is serious about dealing with the food crisis, describing himself as as a person who is committed to delivering results. In a reference to the former UNC agriculture minister Trevor Sudama Piggot said, "This is not a bhagi and pumpkin minister, this is a minister of delivery."

To which Oropouche east MP Roodal Moonilal responded: "talk is cheap, food is expensive".