NICHOLLS TOWN - The agricultural potential of Andros has caught the attention of China?s Ambassador to The Bahamas His Excellency Hu Dingxian.

?You have everything here,? said Mr Hu. ?All we really need is some organization and some co-ordination to make people realize the significance of agriculture to the nation. In China we say agriculture is the lifeblood of the nation.

?Especially at this time, something must be done in agriculture to enhance the prospects of food security. There is great potential here on Andros.?

Mr Hu and first secretary Tan Jian accompanied a high-level Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC) team to Andros last weekend led by executive chairman Edison Key.

He hailed Mr. Key as ?a very devoted man committed to his responsibility. With him at the helm we are sure we can do a lot here in this beautiful country.?

They were accompanied by Dr Marikis Alverez of the Inter-American Institute for Co-operation in Agriculture, general manager Benjamin Rahming, and assistant general managers Joyce Treco and Arnold Dorsett and were welcomed by Administrator Dr Huntley Christie, Chief Counselor Brian Cleare, local and central government officials and farmers.

The team toured Ministry of Agriculture facilities, farms, the North Andros High School agriculture project and the proposed sites for the agro industrial park and the nursery.

Farmers embraced the Chinese?s visit. North Andros Farmers Association vice president Caleb Evans said, ?We got the impression that they are sincere in their willingness to assist us.

?We are also grateful to BAIC and the chairman Mr. Key for the things they are doing to enhance agricultural production in North Andros. We are already seeing the benefits from that.

?More farmers are coming on stream and acreage under cultivation is increasing. Continued at this pace and soon we could put a serious dent in the amount of food products we import.?

Executive chairman Key promotes Andros as ?the breadbasket of The Bahamas.?

Already, three new farm tractors and two refrigerated trailers have been bought for farmers in North Andros since Mr. Key?s appointment. He urged Bahamians to tap into the estimated $500 million used to import food products.

?The Government is beginning to realize that putting as much emphasis as it does on tourism and banking is good, but you still need food. While I am at BAIC I hope to do all I can to support farmers throughout The Bahamas to create and develop this industry,? said Mr Key.

Photo: BAIC chairman Edison Key (left) and China?s Ambassador to The Bahamas His Excellency Hu Dingxian inspect tomatoes at the government?s North Andros packing house. Also pictured from right are IICA representative Dr Marikis Alverez and Domestic Investment Officer Alphonso Smith. (BIS Photo/Gladstone Thurston)

On behalf of the Caribbean Constituency, I wish to thank the host of this meeting, the Republic of Columbia as well as the city of Medellin, the staff of the Inter-American Development Bank Group and the other organizations and businesses involved in this event. All their hard work and attention to details behind the scenes has made this the 50th meeting of the Board of Governors of the IDB an outstanding organizational success.

We are facing extraordinarily difficult and uncertain times. Most of our economies would record negative growth, declining tourist receipts, reduced levels of foreign direct investments, increased fiscal deficits, escalating levels of public sector debt and rising unemployment. In such times leaders must be clear in their purpose and firm in their resolve. They must resist the temptation to find illusionary causes for or solutions to our global dilemma. Rather, we must focus sharply on the real issues and address ourselves in the most determined way to resolving them. The fate of our people depend upon our doing so.

It is clear to us that the real issues confronting the global community include:

1) Getting the economies of our world on a sound footing for positive real growth and stability in order to generate once again high quality and sustainable employment;

2) Making genuine, equitable progress in protecting the international financial system including attending to those weaknesses in regions not ordinarily regarded as presenting such challenges;

3) Mobilizing capital to fund the continuing economic growth and development needs of countries, particularly more vulnerable developing countries and doing so in a manner that does not inhibit long-term growth and development prospects.

We acknowledge with thanks and appreciation the support of the Inter-American Development Bank, the Inter-American Investment Corporation and the Multilateral Investment Fund through programmes and instruments such as FINPYME and the Liquidity Program for Growth Sustainability

We view the increase in the Bank?s ordinary capital and in particular the replenishment of the Fund for Special Operations as vital, especially as greater support will be needed during the current global crisis.

Prior to the global downturn many of us looked to the private financial markets to fund essential capital projects. The conditions nowadays of the financial markets are such that countries that would not have otherwise done so may now have to resort to seeking funding from multilateral institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank. This will be especially true for middle income countries such as my country, The Bahamas.

We are therefore in support of increasing the Banks? capital.

We look forward to the Bank developing a new institutional strategy that makes effective use of additional resources to support social safety net programmes, poverty and inequality reduction, infrastructure investments and climate change. Similarly we look forward to the re-evaluation of the Bank?s private sector policy in order to support the Region?s development and exploration of other measures to help expand capital flows to the public and private sectors of our Region. These initiatives are of special concern to us.

Finally, we urge the Bank to continue its role as the institutional standard-bearer for the Region and in its determination as a key interlocutor in the dialogue between member countries, the public sector, the private sector, and civil society in the region.

Freeport, Grand Bahama - The Bahamas American Football Federation (BAFF) continues to make strides on the international sport scene and Saturday, February 28th, 2009, was no exception. A few BAFF players were treated to a one-on-one meeting with a former NFL great Jerome ?The Bus? Bettis. ?The Bus? was recently on the island of Grand Bahama, heard about BAFF and took some time out of his busy schedule to speak with some of the players and organizers of the federation.

After greeting everyone, Bettis sat down for some time to share some points on football as the game and football in his life. Bettis told them that football was a lot more than a game for him, it provided him with an avenue to developing a better way of life through attending college and his NFL career.

?Had I not,? as ?The Bus? told the young men, ?played football, my family would not have been able to provide the resources for me to go to school. In essence, football gave me the opportunity to start my life.?

Bettis attended the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana, followed by being drafted by the Los Angeles Rams, 10th overall pick, in 1993. He was then traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1996.

He explained to the young men that it shouldn?t be the NFL or bust. "There are very few jobs in the NFL and 9 out of ten of those with the dream, go bust. Don?t pigeon-hole yourself and you must work to secure your future ? say to yourself, ?if I do get an opportunity to play in the NFL, then great, if I don?t, I?ll be fine as well and I will continue the dream in another way. I?m still going to be alright.? Don?t limit yourself and always work to get better and dreaming for the stars.?

Bettis went on to explain that he is currently retired from the NFL at the age of 37 and if he did not have his educational background in business, where would he be and he would not have the knowledge to have his own businesses ? he would be stuck. ?Eventhough education was not the focus in the NFL, it has become the focus now that I am retired,? explained ?The Bus?. His education is providing him opportunities to do other things now that he is not playing football.

When asked a question as to the importance of discipline, Bettis replied, ?Discipline in football teaches more than Xs and Os, it teaches life skills. You take what you learn in football and you apply it to life. Never give up. Be on time, pay attention to details and if the coach says take your first step with your left foot, take the first step with your left foot. Your boss on your job, is essentially your coach.?

He closed by encouraging the young men to always be disciplined, be coachable, develop good life skills and never forget to pay attention to detail if they too intend to succeed in life.

Photo: Jerome Bettis signing a team jersey for the young players.

The 3rd Annual Miss Grand Bahama Beauty Pageant is one step away from crowning the new Miss Grand Bahama for 2009/2010. We have six beautiful young intelligent women competing for the prestigious title of Miss Grand Bahama.

The ideal contestant for the Miss Grand Bahama title is a person who will successfully fulfill the requirements set forth below and will wear the crown with dignity, respect and be a good ambassador for the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

Miss Grand Bahama Organization dictates a successful participant would need to possess a high degree of judgment and common sense. Pageant participant will continually face situation in which decision and choices between alternatives are required to achieve the pageant goal. Miss Grand Bahama should therefore be able to face logically arrives at sumay decision with out direct supervision from the pageant organization.

Our new Miss Grand Bahama will represent the Bahamas at the Miss Coffee International Pageant and Miss Global Beauty Queen Pageant. Miss Grand Bahama Beauty Pageant Organization is dedicated to grooming the young woman of Grand Bahama into purpose-driven community-minded beautiful young woman with a true passion for pageantry. We hope to transform our young woman into true ambassadors for our country. The reigning Miss Grand Bahama Kerel Pinder came second in the talent section and third in the online voting at the Miss Global Beauty pageant in China.

Miss Grand Bahama top model is judged on Posture & Body Alignment; Walk & Movement; Presentation; Interpretation of Garment; Commercial [45 second]; and Photos shoot [45 second].

Requirements: Beauty; Form; Intelligent; Communicating Efficiently; Appearance; Judgment/ Common Sense; Attitude Motivation/ Team work; Confidence; and Speaking Ability

Schedule of official activities:

Miss Grand Bahama official photo shoot sponsored by Old Bahama Bay.

Friday March 6, 2009: Introduction of Contestants at Isles of Capri & Casino, Time 9:30 pm

Sunday March 8th: Church Service

Friday March 13th: Top Model & Talent Competition at Rock Island Bar, Time 8pm.

March 25, 2009: Judges interview

March 27th, 2009: Float Parade, Start from the YMCA at 4pm

March 27th, 2009: Swimsuit / Evening Gown and Costume judging competition. Sponsored by and held at the Isles of Capri Casino: Time 6:30pm.

March 29th: the Crowning of the Miss Grand Bahama 2009/10 at the Hilton Outten Theater.

Pre ? show starts at 8:15 Miss Grand Bahama starts at 9pm.

Sponsors: After Seven Bridal, Traffic Bahamas, Bahama Brides Unleashed, Pratt?s Take-out,
and Gibson Gorgeous Fashion wears

Major Sponsors: Isles of Capri & Casino, Terreve College, Zorbas Greek Cuisine, Pelican Bay Hotel, Regional Air, and Escante Boutique

Text voting is our newest addition to our pageant, in order to vote you would have to text- MGB 1- MGB 7 [ Miss Grand Bahama] to 242- 533-4100 The text should correspond to the contestant you choose . Our text voting is done by SMS Matrix Bahamas. People's Choice Award SMS text voting started March 1, 2009. Our Fitness section of the pageant is also one of our newest additions.