AgriExpo 2022
Agriculture is an important part of any countries economy. It determines what a country is able to grow as a food source, either for local use or export purposes. No one nation is independent in this regard, as globalization is becoming more and more mainstream. This has caused many countries to invest heavily in their agriculture sectors, trying their very best to increase the knowledge and awareness of the importance of this sector to all.
With all that being said, Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, Kazim Hosein, launched the countries Agri-Investment Forum and Expo. This will be an initiative to, and I quote: “Transform Agriculture through Innovation and Investment.”
If you have been around for some time and have been involved in agriculture, then you know that the industry has changed drastically over the last couple years. People have shifted their focus away from tilling in the fields to becoming more industrialized, aiming to be more ‘advanced’, like other larger countries. This has lead the agriculture sector to be somewhat ignored, and instead of producing our own food, we have given a larger and larger budget to the importation of food in order to supply a growing population.
However, recently, there has been a change, where attention is once again shifting back to investing in our own countries agriculture. This Expo will allow all those who play a part in agriculture, both Public and Private, to interact and build a relationship with investors both locally and across the CARICOM.
Think of it as a meet-and-greet. A way for individuals to bring forth ideas on how new and emerging technologies can be applied to improve the sectors ability to provide more food for the country locally, regionally, and wider, while at the same time reducing the food import bill.
What does this mean for you and me though? Why should we take notice of this Expo? Well, for one thing, this endeavor is not just a business opportunity, but a wake-up call for all of us here regionally. If you have been paying attention to the news then you might have seen how changing conditions in one part of the world have impacted the economy of other unrelated countries. Take note of Ukraine. They have been one of the worlds’ major suppliers of grain; mainly corn and wheat. With the advent of the conflict with Russia, their agricultural exports have all but ceased, leading to a shortage of grain to many other countries.
Instances like this have shown many the importance of being self-sustaining, at least in some regard when it comes to growing our own food. While it may mean that we might not have access to certain foods that we are not able to grown within our climate range, we will be able to enjoy our own locally grown foods at a much more cheaper rate. However, with the advancement of technology, we are seeing innovations in farming and climate control, making it possible to grow crops that are not local to our climate or region.
The Agri-Invest Expo ultimately will present a great opportunity for stakeholders, investors and other agricultural based business to showcase their products and ideas and how they can be applied to the sector. If this applies to you and sparks your interest then it would be worthy to take notice. The date for the event will be August 19th to the 21st ,2022.
I’ll be leaving some links below for you to follow up on. I’ll see you there.
Agri Investment Forum and Expo II – Home | Facebook
