Above: Trinidad (CJ Photo)

The twin-island nation’s agricultural sector expanded by 5.1 percent in 2013, with a corresponding two percent drop in the country’s food import bill in the last three years.

In a statement issued by the Ministry of Food Production last week, the government said that, after two decades of decline, the sector has been showing improvement due to factors like improved roads, improved irrigation systems and new technologies like hydroponics.

“These new strides have made a demonstrable impact on the agricultural sector, as evidenced by the food price inflation rate reading a significant low of 3.2 percent in January 2014,” the Ministry said.

Since 2009, the contribution of the agriculture sector to Trinidad and Tobago’s Gross Domestic Product has jumped by 77 percent.