Thursday, August 8, 2019
By NATARIO McKENZIE
Tribune Business Reporter
nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net
BAHAMIAN farmers have been urged to "get on one accord" and tackle The Bahamas $500m food import bill, amid warnings that the "livelihood of our nation depends on it".
Caron Shepherd, the Farmers United Co-operative president, told an agricultural conclave held this week at Baha Mar that Bahamian farmers need to "take the bull by the horns" and "take the industry where it needs to go".
"We will access our land mass, create a land mass bank. We will discover who is good at growing which crops and producing what livestock. We will conceptualise a plan which will work for us," said Ms Shepherd.
"Agriculture can, and will, become one of the leading pillars of our economy. Do you know we have some of the smartest people in the world? Yes, we do, and you all are a part of this group. The United Nations has indicated as one of their sustainable goals that by the year 2030 no one will be left behind, and we should have food security. By then the world's population will have increased by three billion people."
Ms Shepherd said that moving forward with crops such as onions, Irish potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, bell peppers, hot peppers and pigeon peas, Bahamian farmers could put a "serious dent in our imports". She included celery, lemons, cucumbers, oranges, plantains, grapefruit, goat pepper, garlic, key Limes, watermelon, cantaloupe, broccoli, mangoes and cassava in this.
"Once we are all on one accord we can put a dent in the import bill," said Ms Shepherd, adding: "The responsibility is on your shoulders to revolutionise this sector. Only you can do this. You must set the pace and make this bold move and take your industry to new heights."
Comments
banker says...
This is a pretty naive view, although it is a correct one. The Bahamas needs to do something about food security. We have enough reserves to last three months worth of food for the Bahamian population. The bitter pill though, is that food production in agriculture is a complicated thing.
First of all, agri-businesses offshore, in the USA, Canada and other countries receive huge subsidies from their governments. Even with import taxes, Bahamian farmers cannot compete price-wise because these economies of scale. How can a corn farmer with 10 acres compete with an Iowa corn farmer of 1000 acres who is heavily mechanized and receives subsidies? Then there is the cost of fertilizer and pesticides which must be imported and are hellishly expensive. We do not have the arable land nor the appropriate climate to compete for breadbasket items.
That being said, there is plenty of room for niche agriculture and organically growing the things that can be grown with intensive agriculture. Yes these products will cost more, but they will be healthier and will contribute to food security. The problem is that a vast majority of the Bahamian population has only the money to buy cheap processed foods and cheap fast foods. All of this goes to the monolithic Bahamian economy.
This is a tough nut to crack. It must be dealt with in an innovative fashion, with some government help, and our government is broke.
Again, another seemingly unsolvable problem.
Posted 9 August 2019, 2:27 p.m. Suggest removal
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