Small livestock farmer participation in the making of agricultural policy decisions in Trinidad and Tobago

Abstract

Farmer participation in policy decision-making has been widely hypothesized to be a critical success factor for policy, program, and project development. Bottom-up approaches build on farmers' capacities and capabilities and enhance their standard of living better than top-down approaches. Small farmers in Trinidad and Tobago play an important role in domestic food production, food security, and rural development. However, despite initiatives taken by the Ministry of Food Production and Marine Resources (MFPMR) to involve small farmers in the making of agricultural policy decisions, their participation has been very limited. They have not been recognized as real contributors to the economy. Data from a June 2001 random sample survey of small livestock farmers were used in a two-stage process to measure factors that affected their attitude toward participation. Actual participation was conditional on their willingness to participate. The correlation between small farmer characteristics and their choice of communication method to foster participation was also measured. Three decision models were developed. The results provided evidence which government can use to share power with small farmers through participation. The findings showed that small farmers were willing to participate (93 per cent of those sampled) and contribute toward agricultural development. Women and members of farmers' groups were likely to participate more readily. The two most preferred methods of communication to encourage participation were estimated to be through group/cooperative/association and through public consultation, respectively.