Agriculture official: 'Transform' policies for industry's survival

Wed, Jul 16th 2014, 10:53 AM

New Providence must "transform" its housing and agricultural policies if it wishes for the local farming industry to survive, according to a top Ministry of Agriculture official.
In an interview with Guardian Business, Assistant Director of Agriculture Dr. Kenneth Richardson addressed the challenges facing local agriculture while outlining the industry's untapped potential as food costs and demand soar.
Richardson felt that there was a strong demand in New Providence for highly perishable crops, including kale, arugula and sweet potatoes, which could all be cultivated locally.
"When you think of the market in New Providence, you're talking about large hotels like Atlantis, Baha Mar, which is coming on stream, the tourist industry," said Richardson.
"There are a lot of more exotic vegetable crops that there is a market for. I think that New Providence could play an important role in producing these crops for these specialty markets."
However, another Ministry of Agriculture employee felt that government permits and inspections, along with cutbacks to educational programs, were "killing" small farmers. Despite this, the employee added that value-added tax (VAT) could contain a silver lining for the industry by encouraging small-scale farming on the island as the cost of imported produce increases.
Although local farms have diminished, Richardson cited the efforts of Double R Bananas and Pineapples as a positive example of farming on the island. The five-acre farm, located off of Bacardi Road, primarily produces bananas and onions, in addition to pineapples, pumpkins, and other crops with minimal use of pesticides.
Speaking with Guardian Business, Double R owner Roland Evans claimed that the farm was capable of producing 75-100 tons of onions every four-month harvest and was looking to expand into other highly perishable crops.
Evans claimed that the government needed to increase its support of local farms and revise its policies to allow construction of residences on farmland to reduce theft.
While Evans acknowledged that Andros remained ideal for agriculture in The Bahamas due to the availability of land, he agreed that there was substantial room for development in New Providence if local farmers learned from developments at the Bahamas Agricultural and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI).
While Richardson supported the development of BAMSI, he felt that logistical issues with crop transport would require New Providence to remain an integral hub within the industry.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with setting up BAMSI there in North Andros," said Richardson. "That's ideal, but I think that some of the things that they are going to attempt to do there may best be done here because New Providence has farmers that have to be served, as well as the family islands."
BAMSI, which aims to develop the agricultural sector by providing theoretical and practical training in agricultural and business skills to Bahamians, is expected to open in September. The government is expected to spend $100 million on the project.
Richardson claimed that The Bahamas needs to "transform the kind of agriculture we do in New Providence and to also transform the kind of housing developments we have here in New Providence because urban sprawl cannot continue".
"The closer the crop is from the ground to the table, the fresher it is," said Richardson, arguing that shipping costs and crop losses through post-harvest handling could be significantly minimized through local farming efforts.
While the Gladstone Road Agricultural Center (GRAC) has successfully demonstrated that highly perishable produce can be grown in New Providence, the center remains strapped for funding and government support.
"We have to have more vision," said Richardson, and stressed the importance of educational programs in developing farming on the island, suggesting that the country offer "at least a BJC or even a BGCSE" in agriculture.
"One of the reasons why we don't get young people into farming is because they see it as hard work, out in the sun, and they see it as something that people do when they can't do anything else," said Richardson.
"The policy makers, we ourselves... have been perpetuating that myth."

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