Ministry of Food Production, Land and Marine Affairs (MFPLMA) Strategic Plan 2011-2015.

This Strategic Plan serves as the framework for the Ministry of Food Production, Land and Marine Affairs (MFPLMA) to think and work strategically in order to fulfill its mandate, according to which the institution will foster the sustainable use and conservation of agriculture and fisheries resources through appropriate science and technologies, knowledge management and economic integration that enables producers to realize profits and consumers to secure food and nutrition requirements. In implementing its mandate, the MFPLMA will focus on the six development pillars for agriculture in Trinidad and Tobago, specifically: respect for agriculture, the farmers and the land; affordable food on a sustained basis; sustainable livelihood for farmers; a mixture of traditional and technology-driven platforms; regional and extra-regional joint ventures to achieve economies of scale and export competitiveness; functional linkages between research and development and the sector to strengthen knowledge applications.
The plan establishes the following strategic goals: 1) Respect for agriculture and the environment, empowerment of stakeholders and building of social capital for sustainable agriculture and rural development; 2) Expanded opportunities for productive employment and improved social conditions for small-scale producers, including women and youth; 3) Efficient, profitable and competitive agri-business enterprises and industries; 4) Transparent, coordinated and results-driven agricultural institutional framework; 5) Securing the interest of agriculture, fisheries and food production.
The instrument aims to strengthen and promote nature conservation and in particular, conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems by making agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable.
The Plan aims to enable more inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems. More specifically, it seeks to: strengthen stakeholders’ capacity for organisational development, representation and engagement in public-private sector consultations and partnerships so that government policies and interventions are stakeholder driven, relevant and sustainable and encouraging of woman and youth involvement; explicitly develop livelihoods initiatives to accommodate women and youth; strengthen technical capacity and institutional processes to design, develop and effectively deliver an integrated package of critical support and services to facilitate implementation of the crop, fisheries and livestock development programmes that add value to stakeholders’ efforts to improve their operations.
In the field of governance, the objective is to transform the MFPLMA into a modern, client responsive and effective institution by streamlining its institutional structure and strengthening operating norms and procedures and coordination mechanisms with entities to enhance its impact on the agriculture, fisheries and food production system.