MINISTER of Agriculture & Marine Resources Alfred Gray on Wednesday justified the more than $20 million investment the Government made in the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI), pointing to the returns of a growing employment rate, thousands of cases of bananas, papayas and other produce brought to market, and the inaugural commencement ceremony held last July where 23 students graduated with associate degrees, certificates or diplomas in agriculture, marine science or aquaculture.
“BAMSI has produced over 20,000 cases of bananas, over eight thousand cases of papayas, and despite the setback brought about by Hurricane Matthew, BAMS is on its way back, and is now producing; tomatoes, onions, citrus, livestock, coconuts, pineapples, peanuts and much more. “ He continued that BAMSI has “employed and empowered almost 200 Bahamians, mainly from the island of Andros.”
Addressing the delegates of the Progressive Liberal Party’s (PLP) 52nd National Convention, Minister Gray said BAMSI’s progress was part of the Government’s arsenal to reduce the nearly $1 billion food import bill the country is burdened with. He noted that through initiatives such as BAMSI’s Associate Farmers Programme (AFP), his ministry was aggressively seeking ways to empower Bahamian farmers and fishermen to aid in the reduction of imports.
“My ministry seeks to find ways to empower farmers and fishermen throughout the Bahamas by granting them duty free concessions for farming equipment such as tractors, trucks, etc. We also offer assistance in land clearing, irrigation systems, animal feed, vegetable seeds, fertilizers and the list goes on.”
Toward that end, in 2016 the Bahamas Government earmarked $500,000 in assistance to small farmers across the archipelago. The funding, which is being disbursed through a micro-loan initiative between the Bahamas Development Bank (BDB) and BAMSI, is expected to go towards farm upgrades and agricultural improvements.
Yolanda Deleveaux
INFORMATION & COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER
The Bahamas Agriculture & Marine Science Institute
