By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

The Gladstone Road cultivation centre is 90 percent complete and will be ready for opening by the end of the month.

Clay Sweeting, Minister of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Family Island Affairs, said at the Office of the Prime Minister’s press briefing that the 12,000ft centre will have food processing kitchens, a produce exchange and office space and will be a “general source for food production” for the country.

The ministry has also acquired a building for a cultivation centre in Hatchet Bay, Eleuthera, which it expects to break ground on by the end of this summer.

The ministry also continues to receive animals to distribute to farmers throughout the country as well. “Earlier this year, we received 260 sheep and goats for distribution and to also build capacity at the Gladstone Road agricultural centre (GRAC)," Mr Sweeting said.

He added: “Our layer programme, as we look at this holistic approach on Golden Yolk and what we're doing at BAMSI (Bahamas Agricultural Marine Sciences Institute) our layer programme must continue. We received more than 4,000 chicks in the past few weeks that we are continuing to distribute to farmers across The Bahamas.”

Mr Sweeting said: “In February, the team at the BAIC (Bahamas Agriculture and Industrial Corporation) have been anticipating the arrival of the new feed mill, which should arrive in about six to eight weeks and this will be installed at the site at GRAC.

“The government of The Bahamas has approved the investment of more than $15m towards the project and we will also see the construction of six grow houses in New Providence 38 in the Family Islands.”

The Golden Yolk project will be carried out on 12 Family Islands and is anticipated to create 90 jobs, more than half of which will be in the Family Islands.

The BAMSI Egg-cademy is also taking shape as over 3,800 birds are now housed in an “enriched cage system". Mr Sweeting also said: “These birds will complement our egg production programme and is expected to produce an estimated one million eggs annually.”

He also said: “Currently, we produce 700,000 eggs per year and once the full programme is completed, we are looking at 28m and that can continue as we invest more. That’s 28m eggs nationally per year and for New Providence that would roughly be around 18m and the rest around the Family Islands.”