Long Island Chief Councilor Ian Knowles has called for the government to make Crown land more readily available to Long Island's farmers in a bid to develop the country's local food supply.
Speaking at the inaugural Long Island Business Outlook (LIBO) last week, Knowles stated that he has received significant interest from the local Long Island community in boosting the island's mutton farming efforts.
Long Island has long been one of the main producers of mutton in The Bahamas. However, Knowles said that the government needs to provide additional incentives for livestock rearing on the island if it wants to increase production.
"We have a lot of people who want to rear animals. There's Crown land available, but when they apply, it takes a long time to get land for those persons who want to rear [livestock]. We've been talking for a long time to develop a food supply for our nation. I think more of an incentive needs to be given to those [rearing livestock]. We need provisions of cattle wire, provisions of feed for animals, and a slaughterhouse," said Knowles.
Knowles argued that these are necessary steps if The Bahamas wants to reduce its dependency on foreign food imports. Other agricultural programs, including the Bahamas Agricultural and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI), have been developed with the same goal of promoting local produce.
Despite the island's livestock opportunities, Knowles conceded that Long Island can only grow limited amount of produce due to the island's relatively poor soil quality.

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