EDITOR, The Tribune.

It amazes this writer just how conveniently forgetful our politicians are when it suits them … I recall with the sale of the Hotel Corp property on Cable Beach to Arison and the building of The Crystal Palace, Carnival were granted, as I recall, a large amount of Government land in Andros and required to grow produce…I believe the Hon Loftus Roker insisted and proposed this.

What is significant if this was a total utter failure, a failure which is of enormous significance as Carnival contracted top Israeli agri-consultants and it still failed … If I remember correctly the last agri-product that Carnival grew in Andros were cucumbers and even that failed - failed because of draft and mildew.

This backyard gardening has any person in Agriculture cost the growing of 100lbs of tomatoes - three-dozen cabbage - let’s say three-six dozen lettuce heads against the price in the supermarket? No, as we, especially the politicians keep on this charade this pie-in-the sky without a large capital investment in modern hydroponics there is zero chance of growing anything that will be cost effective.

Christie spent what was it?- $20 plus million on BAMSI? The premise of the project was a total failure as the concept was flawed.

It was in living history that Exuma and Eleuthera grew excellent Bermuda onions … imagine instead of being sold directly to our homes in Nassau they were sent on the freight boat to Miami and our supermarkets bought “our own” onions and sold them in our markets!

Pineapples, yes, ours are the sweetest ones around - how many MP’s realise that to get a pineapple to fruit you need two years … annually we dump local mangoes on the dock our farmers cannot sell more than $15,000 to the packing house when reality is why can’t the farmers sell direct to the wholesalers in Nassau - be paid on the spot and able to go back out to purchase more seed and equipment – no we have to work through the antiquated Packing house system - a totally failed entity.

Yes, there are certain agri-related products that we could produce and reduce the food bill again the all essential feed is a cost issue and we can’t produce a local supply.

Fisheries - great potential, but costs and the capital required for new technically equipped vessels make that difficult.

Local Honey is a typical local product … MPO’s go to your local market and check precisely how much more expensive is the local. Honey to the imported which has to pay duties? Go check before you talk uneducated gibberish.

Historic facts The Bahamas was the sole British Empire possession where the plantation system was a total failure … Editor, yes I support any diversification, but I refuse to be stupid - if agriculture was feasible and had financial potential you think the likes of Sir Stafford Sands would not have jumped on it and acquired as much Crown land to create farms and up agri-production - no they didn’t and I suggest they knew.

My ten plus tomato plants produce delicious fruit totally organic, but I am no fool I know they cost more than what I can buy from the market. Talking about tomatoes ask hotels their requirements sizing for example - in a bushel you can’t have 20 different sizes – they want a standard size…same goes for greens…local cabbage is small to mega, nothing uniform. Truly if only we can.

SIMEON SMITH

Nassau,

February 16, 2022.