Food Production Minister Vasant Bharath has said he will present his ministry's one-year action plan to Cabinet for approval in nine days.

He was speaking at a food-production stakeholders' forum, hosted by the Ministry of Food Production, Land and Marine Affairs, at the Hilton Trinidad in St Ann's yesterday.

The minister said his ministry will present to Cabinet on July 15, for consideration and approval, a one-year action plan for the sustainable development of the agricultural sector.

During the first Cabinet meeting on June 1, following the May 24 general election, Prime Minis- ter Kamla Persad-Bissessar had mandated that each minister come up with a one-year action plan for his ministry and sector, within 30 days of taking office.

Bharath said over the last five weeks, he has met with a number of stakeholders within the agricultural sector, including the National Agricultural Marketing and Development Corporation (Namdevco), Trinidad and Tobago Agri-Business Asso- ciation (TTABA), Agriculture Society of Trinidad and Tobago, Cunupia Farmers' Association, National Foodcrop Farmers' Association (NFFA), Sugarcane Manufacturing Company Ltd, Beekeepers' Association of Trinidad and Tobago, Poultry Association of Trinidad and Tobago, Sheep and Goat Society of Trinidad and Tobago and the Cocoa Research Unit of the University of the West Indies (UWI).

He said the meetings were organised "with a view to ensuring a certain level of completeness in the preparation of the draft one-year action plan for the Ministry of Food Production, Land and Marine Affairs".

He said among the main issues raised by participants during the meeting were the difficulty in securing land tenure, issue of praedial larceny, proper training and the lack of access to loans.