‘FARM TO TABLE: REVOLUTIONIZING THE LOCAL FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN’
4-H LEADERS COUNCIL OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
The Agri Expo 2024 received a phenomenal amount of support. Building on the success of the event last year, this year’s Expo was themed, ‘Farm to Table: Revolutionizing the Local Food Supply Chain’. The event took place from August 16th to August 18th, 2024, at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain and commenced with an opening ceremony, where students from various 4-H clubs participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony. 4-Hers upon entrance to the event had the pleasure of meeting the Hon. Keith Rowley, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. Our booth was themed, ‘Field to Feast – Farmers are Superheroes’. The 4-H Leaders Council of Trinidad and Tobago was honoured to be a part of this event and partnered with many stakeholders to continue making the best better.
In true 4-H style, 4-Hers from six registered 4-H clubs participated in a ‘Chow Down’ Competition on the first day of the Agri Expo. Each club consisted of a team of two (2) students who created their own chow with a choice of local ingredients: pineapples, mangoes, cucumbers and paw-paw.
The 4-H booth buzzed with excitement inclusive of continuous activities and lots of giveaways. One thousand seedlings were distributed throughout the event along with dragon fruit cuttings, orchid flower cuttings and spanish thyme cuttings. This initiative allowed for the 4-H Leaders Council of Trinidad and Tobago and the Ministry of Education representative, Dr. Vishal Ramjattan, to educate visitors about the process of planting these cuttings and the benefits of the fruits.
Representatives from Nutrien, The Ministry of Agriculture Land and Fisheries, The Ministry of Education and Soaring Upwards – Reaching for Excellence (SURE) Foundation secured spots at our 4-H booth in the Frangi Pani Lane.
Voluntary Leaders from the 4-H Leaders Council of Trinidad and Tobago handed out prizes for the games played by the children: Tic-Tac-Toe Bugs, Pin the Tail on the Pig and Agri-Science Based Question/Answer Quiz, which fostered interactive experiences about gardening and farming.
The prizes included innovative stationery, stickers and seeds. The 4-H uniform, available to 4-Hers at all branches of Bradford Trading Limited was also proudly displayed, along with the 4-H pledge and prayer. On the projector display, 4-H featured the various competitions held previously and the stakeholders at the booth.
Mr. Pop, a lolly entrepreneur, generously donated one thousand, five hundred (1500) lollies, all local flavours: mango, pineapple and watermelon for visitors to the 4-H booth. Nutrien facilitated a planting activity where children were provided with an opportunity to plant a seed using the Seed Box section, take it home and observe its growth. In addition, Nutrien distributed Nutrien branded bags, umbrellas and pencil cases. One thousand seedlings: lettuce, tomatoes and ochroes were also dispensed at the booth by the Ministry of Education and SURE Foundation.
To award the winners of competitions at the booth, Project Hope sponsored hampers for the Chow down competition, MALF sponsored the Zoo tours and Kalpoo’s tours sponsored the Caroni Bird Sanctuary tours respectively. The 4-H Leaders Council of Trinidad and Tobago was on full network mode for this event in the hope of expanding its engagement.
During the Agri-Expo period, the president of the 4-H Leaders Council, Mrs. Natasha Lee, had the pleasure of meeting with Hon. Johany ‘Jay’ Ebanks, MP Minister for Planning, Agriculture, Housing, Infrastructure, Transport, & Development and Hon. W. McKeeva Bush, JP, Parliamentary Secretary for Social Development, Innovation, Border Control, Culture, Planning, Housing, Infrastructure, Transport and Development from the Cayman Islands. Networking is one of the many short-term goals of the 4-H Council as it aims to involve community stakeholders both regionally and internationally in its endeavour to grow 4-HTT through the education and empowerment of youth.
The 4-H Leaders Council of Trinidad and Tobago: the National Executive Team, 4-H Voluntary Leaders and 4-Hers nationwide extend gratitude to the personnel from the Ministry of Agriculture Land and Fisheries (MALF), NAMDEVCO, NUTRIEN, Mr. Pop, Unit Trust Corporation (UTC), Project Hope, Kalpoo’s Tours, the SURE Foundation and the Ministry of Education who assisted us in making this event a tremendous success.
#4-Hlife: 2025 New Year goal: Join or form a 4-H club at your primary or secondary school! Work ‘to make the best better’.