Port of Spain, November 22, 2024: The Honourable Foster Cummings, Minister of Youth Development and National Service, led a team to visit the MYDNS Youth Aquaculture Project Site and Shade House facilities in Chaguaramas.
The visit to the Aquaculture site, located on the compound of the Caribbean Fisheries Training and Development Institute, provided the Minister and his team with some insights into the training received by the students, as well as first-hand experience in Fish Handling, Processing and Packaging.
Minister Cummings took on the task of packaging salted fish; testing the water temperature (15 degrees) for raw fish; scaling the fish and salting the fish using the pickle curing process; and expressed his excitement stating, “I thoroughly enjoyed this experience and I appreciate the collaboration between Caribbean Fisheries Training and Development Institute (CFTDI) and the Ministry of Youth Development and National Service”.
The Minister emphasized, “We as a government want to expand opportunities such as these for our young people, so that they would be equipped to expand their own businesses. We at the MYDNS will also continue to support you through micro loans and grant funding which can be acquired through NEDCO, as you grow and expand.”
Minister Cummings then highlighted, “This is the vision of the Honourable Prime Minister, to get our young people involved in non- traditional forms of education, thus reducing our import bill and some import substitution with local manufacturing such as this, while enhancing the green economy”.
Permanent Secretary, MYDNS – Mr. Narine Charran, along with Manager – Youth and Women in Agricultur – Mrs. Aaliyah D’Hereaux-Collette, also participated in the fish-handling processes led by CFTDI Technical Instructor Mr. Marvin Yoksi, while he took the class through the Fin Fish Handling, Processing and Packaging Modules and guided the Minister on a tour of the plant.
Minister Cummings continued his visit to Chaguaramas at the Youth Agricultural ShadeHouse Project, where he toured the four (4) Shade Houses that were commissioned in August, and assisted the students in harvesting some cucumbers and patchoi.
The Youth Aquaculture Programme allows young people to acquire technical skills training, with best practices in the cultivation of aquatic organisms in a controlled environment; to create opportunities for them to contribute to the sustainable development of our local agricultural sector. The Youth ShadeHouse Project equips young people with the skills and resources to develop Agriculture Co-operatives focused on the production of high-value, short-term crops.
The Ministry of Youth Development and National Service remains committed to bringing all stakeholders together to promote youth development and encourages civic-minded citizens to contribute to National Service across Trinidad and Tobago.
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