The Bahamas could be experiencing a significant decrease in its annual food import bill, as officials at the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC) estimate a 30 percent reduction over the next five years. BAIC's Executive Chairman Arnold Forbes, classified The Bahamas as being "on the side of the road when it comes to feeding itself". Food security is a major issue for the country, he added, as it spends approximately $1 billion in food imports. Forbes estimates that the country has four weeks worth of food at any given time. The chairman said he is looking to reduce the hefty bill by at least $30 million annually.
"If we can just shave off a part of our bill over the next ten years, let's say $30 million annually over the next ten years on a sustained basis, we can significantly cut down into that $1 billion food imports that we send to the United States," he said. "We need to become self-sufficient as far as food is concerned. Right now, we are on the side of the road as far as feeding ourselves is concerned. We need to get on the road and start moving forward with making sure that The Bahamas can feed itself." In fact, Godfrey Eneas, consultant to the Ministry of Agriculture, projects that The Bahamas could achieve a 20 percent decrease in the food import bill within the next 30 months.
"The Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) has projected that all Caribbean should have the ability to satisfy its food needs by 25 percent. In the plan that we are putting together, we can achieve 20 percent. That means doubling our annual output. It's quite feasible that over the next five years, we should substantially reduce our food imports. We believe that this could be achieved over the next 24 to 30 months based on a plan that's being initiated by BAIC," Eneas shared.
BAIC officials, including Forbes and Eneas, recently participated in an agricultural and trade mission trip to Cuba. The trip also included high-level discussions with officials from the Cuban Ministry of Agriculture. Cuba's agricultural officials outlined the challenges faced by that country's agricultural sector. Forbes felt the trip gave a bird's eye view of light industry and agribusiness in the region. "Today, in Trinidad, they are producing biodegradable plastic bags. Why isn't The Bahamas exploring light industries in a major way? Why aren't we trying to attract light industries in The Bahamas?
I believe we desperately need a third industry that would supplement the two major sectors that are presently leading the economy, tourism and to certain extent banking. I believe that light industries is a viable alternative and should be explored in a major way." The BAIC executive told Guardian Business that BAIC hopes to take advantage of opportunities in alternative energy and aquaculture, in addition to agriculture. "We should be able to produce solar panels and solar-powered water heaters. That's an aspect of light industries that The Bahamas can take advantage of. We are also looking at agribusiness and agriculture to further develop the Bahamian economy. We have over 100,000 square miles of water that surrounds us and we are not tapping into aquaculture. This sector would thrive on certain islands," according to Forbes.
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