4-H Trinidad and Tobago Participates in Seminar Exploring Agricultural and Food Processing Opportunities with India
By Laura Ram
On Tuesday, 9th December 2025, the 4-H National Leaders Council President, Mrs. Natasha Lee, along with 4-H voluntary leaders from 4-H County Caroni and St. George West, Ms. Laura Ram, Mr. Adrian Boodhan, Ms. Dianna Khan, and Ms. Kasian Stone, represented 4-H Trinidad and Tobago at a seminar titled “Exploring Opportunities with India in Agriculture and Food Processing”. The event was held at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Cultural Co-operation, Mt. Hope, and hosted by Dr. Pradeep Singh Rajpurohit, High Commissioner of India, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and NAMDEVCO.
An Executive Member of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority of India (APEDA) delivered an insightful presentation on India’s successful agricultural practices and advanced farm technologies. They highlighted how these systems contribute to India’s thriving agricultural industry and shared that many of these practices can be adapted and incorporated in Trinidad and Tobago to strengthen local production.
Feature Speaker, Senator the Honorable Ravi Ratiram, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, highlighted the need for stronger partnerships, innovation, and strategies to reduce the national food-import bill. Dr. Ronald Roopnarine, Senior Lecturer at the University of the West Indies Faculty of Food and Agriculture, emphasized the increasing role of technology and the challenges posed by an aging farming population. He emphasised that these conversations must be supported by the appropriate policies to ensure success within Trinidad and Tobago’s agricultural industry.
Representing youth interests, 4-H National President Mrs. Natasha Lee raised a key question to the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries: How can we get more agriculture, more food processing systems in our primary schools where we have children who are getting the very first pleasurable, enjoyable, successful feel for agriculture where they may look at furthering this subject at the secondary school level and eventually becoming our new breed of farmers; how can we work collaboratively to bring this into all our schools? Honorable Minister Ratiram began by commending the impactful work of the 4-H organization in schools across the country. He then announced that several youth-focused agricultural initiatives are currently in development and are expected to be launched early next year, all aimed at strengthening national food security and increasing youth participation in the agriculture sector.
The 4-H Trinidad and Tobago team remains optimistic about strengthening partnerships with all stakeholders across the agricultural sector and looks ahead to a brighter 2026, committed “to make the best better.”