A local farmer is answering the call to provide Grand Bahamians with healthier and affordable food choices through the farm, Local Organics. 

Tiffany Dennison, a former attorney, noted that she gained an appreciation for sustainability and subsistence farming along with an awareness of the state of food security in The Bahamas, especially Grand Bahama.

"It is fundamental that we start farming here because if anybody or anything takes out Florida, no one is sending us food," Dennison said.

She noted that Grand Bahama's reliance on imports has also lowered food quality overall in the past years as food items are affected by varying conditions such as temperature and humidity while in transport.

In response, Dennison established her farming business in 2007.

She credits the farm's early beginnings to a beloved friend and business partner, Charles Wayne Hall, who shared her concerns and love for agriculture and also introduced her to aquaponics.

Now, she operates Local Organics with two investing partners and a team of four.

The half-acre farm is located behind Garden of the Groves and is equipped to grow produce hydroponically and aquaponically.

Hydroponics is a technique of growing plants in a water-based nutrient solution instead of in the ground, while aquaponics includes introducing aquatic animals to the water to provide it with nutrients through their waste.

When asked about her process, Dennison explained that fish are kept in an above-ground pool where their water is pumped through rows of hydroponic tables.

She added that these methods proved to be beneficial as she is able to breed fish, Jamaican red tilapia, and cost-effectively grow large amounts of produce with less water.

"I'm running them through brackish water, so they'll actually be cleaner and they'll taste more like snapper," she said. "It picks up the flavor of everything, which is great for, like, stew fish."

Local Organics produces a variety of edible flowers, herbs, strawberries, tomatoes, and its most popular item - leafy green vegetables.

The farm's spring mix has become quite successful on Grand Bahama as numerous stores and restaurants including Express Food Mart, Solomon's, Livity, Green Gamut, The Stoned Crab, and Flying Fish buy it wholesale.

Flying Fish Co-Owner and General Manager Rebecca Tibbets noted that the restaurant has been using the lettuce for eight years.

"We like to support local small businesses and since it's grown locally, and not traveling, the quality is higher than bringing it in," Tibbets said.

The Stoned Crab restaurant owner Oliva Pagés said the restaurant uses a number of Local Organics produce such as tomatoes, onions, lettuce, mangos, and peppers.

"We're a green restaurant, so we try to promote any local business ... to reduce CO2 from shipping," Pagés said.

"The taste is 10,000 times better since they don't use any harsh pesticides ... and it has a way longer shelf life."

Dennison noted the spring mix is very cost-effective for her to grow, and at $6 per four-ounce box, is affordable for her retail customers as well as the restaurants.

She added that it's been rewarding for her to contribute to improving the island's food supply chain while partnering with other food businesses beyond the farming of produce.

One of these businesses is Blue Water Organic Farm, a startup specializing in shrimp grown in two of Dennison's aquaponic systems on her second property, Fairfield Farms.

Blue Water Proprietor Michael Johnson explained they are close to their first "crop".

"Right now, we're at the point where we are about four more months for them [the shrimp] to reach maturity, and when they've reached [that point], then we could introduce it to the commercial market for sale," he said.

The project drew the attention of Cabinet ministers on the island last week.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments, and Aviation Chester Cooper; Minister for Grand Bahama Ginger Moxey; and Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources Clay Sweeting visited the farm on May 16.

Cooper said Johnson's product could be a "game changer" for the island.

"We have investors who want to come to The Bahamas to really invest in containerized farmers farming, and we need young, progressive farmers like Michael, who went to BAMSI (Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute) who've learned what do," Cooper said.

"Being able to deliver fresh shrimp, we can distribute them almost on a daily basis. ... This is what tourists want — locally grown product."

Sweeting added, "This shrimp farm is one that we would like to assist and capitalize with. So, we're going to work together, see how we can help, whether this business planning will help to expand the farm, so that this can be a success story."

To Dennison, it is what drives her vision of the future of farming in The Bahamas.

"I'm interested in helping anybody [who] wants any help," she said.

"If I help you with your system and your product, and I teach you how to make your product, guess what? I'm going to buy your product - anything that helps people [move] forward."

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