Port of Spain, February 06, 2025: Dr. the Honourable Keith Rowley, Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, presented 300 yam plants to the Honourable Foster Cummings Minister of Youth Development and National Service, at the Tucker Valley ShadeHouse Site, Chaguaramas. The yam plants were gifted to the Prime Minister by the Government of the Republic of Ghana.
Dr. Rowley expressed “I am particularly pleased this morning to associate my office and myself with this initiative, because I believe it will have far reaching contributions to reducing our food import bill”. The Prime Minister called on citizens to support the reduction of the country’s food import bill by eating healthier and purchasing foods grown locally.
The Prime Minister also highlighted that “the five varieties of yam plants will be planted at various locations across Trinidad and Tobago; and research will be conducted to determine which varieties and soil conditions perform best, to be utilized by local farmers.”
The students of the Youth Agricultural Shade House Programme will administer the research aspect from the yams planted at the Tucker Valley ShadeHouse Project Site.
Youth Development and National Service Minister, the Honourable Foster Cummings stated “What we are doing here today is directly as a result of the Prime Minister’s visit to Ghana, where he came into contact with varieties of yams that he thought would have been very useful to us here in Trinidad and Tobago; and as a result he has made it available to the MYDNS”.
The introduction of the yam plants at the Tucker Valley ShadeHouse Project Site began with a planting exercise led by Dr. John Alleyne – Special Advisor to the Prime Minister on Agriculture. Dr Alleyne indicated that the yams will take seven to nine months to grow and can be prepared and manufactured into flour and rice; and can also be boiled and fried for consumption.
The Honourable Stuart Young – Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister; Senator the Honourable Kazim Hosein – Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries; Senator the Honourable Avinash Singh – Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries also participated in the planting exercise.
The Youth Agricultural Shade House Programme supports the goals of attaining food security and becoming self-sustainable in the supply of local agricultural products, within Trinidad and Tobago, by providing students with the resources to thrive as Argo-entrepreneurs and establish agricultural co-operatives. Young persons, ages 16-35 years, enrolled in the Shade House Programme, receive training in the cultivating 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 the National Service of Trinidad and Tobago.
