|
Caribbean Islands Livestock, Fishing, and Forestry
Livestock activity was not as developed as other areas of
agriculture. Although livestock was targeted for generous subsidies
and government programs, only the poultry and pork industries were
very developed. The country's beef and dairy industries in
particular were lacking. Pork was consumed in large quantities, and
except for a few specialty items such as ham and bacon, the country
was self-sufficient in pork. Beef production was very low; less
than one-third of the estimated 30,000 head of cattle were
dedicated to beef production. Most beef was imported from New
Zealand and Australia. Water buffalo were also present, however,
generally tended by rural East Indians. In the late 1980s, farmers
were experimenting with a cattle-buffalo hybrid appropriately
called a "buffalypso." Dairy production was inadequate, and the
islands were about 90-percent dependent on imported milk, handled
almost exclusively by Trinidad Food Products, a subsidiary of
Nestlé. In fact, Trinidad and Tobago had the smallest percentage of
its farmland used as pastures in all of Latin America and the
Caribbean.
The fishing potential of Trinidad and Tobago continued to be
underutilized in the 1980s despite numerous generous government
subsidies instituted to promote the industry. Fish was an important
part of the national diet, especially among Tobagonians. Catches of
fish, including kingfish, grouper, redfish, snapper, shrimp, and
tuna, totaled about 3 million kilograms per year in the first half
of the 1980s. There were over sixty fishing beaches on Trinidad and
Tobago, but only a few had adequate facilities to exploit the
coast's potential. Most deep-sea trawling activity occurred in the
Gulf of Paria, which continued to spark territorial water disputes
with Venezuela. Although an important mutual fishing agreement was
signed between Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago in 1985, there
remained signs that disagreements persisted (see Foreign Relations,
this ch.). Although inland fisheries were expanding rapidly in the
1980s, they were still only small in scale and were a governmentrun activity. Despite strong institutional support for the industry
in general, such as from the National Fisheries Company, the
Fisheries Development Fund, and the Caribbean Fisheries Training
Institute, inefficient methods still prevailed, preventing
fisherman from meeting local demand.
The forestry industry was small considering that about 45
percent of the islands were forested. There existed sixty-two small
sawmills that fed the local furniture industry and a match factory.
Wood was also used for firewood and charcoal, and many exotic woods
were exported in small quantities. Production in the 1980s exceeded
5 million board meters annually. Large tracts of forestland were
owned by the government and have been held as preserves since the
1700s. Because Trinidad and Tobago was geologically tied to South
America, there existed a rich variety of woods, sixty species of
which were commercially lumbered. Nonetheless, the islands were not
self-sufficient in wood products and relied on imports to meet
local demand. Some reforestation programs were implemented in the
1980s to prevent creeping erosion.
Data as of November 1987
|
