By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

The North Andros Chamber of Commerce president says the island’s farmers are “disappointed” the Government may agree a deal to mass import fruits from the Dominican Republic that they produce.

Darin Bethel, speaking to Tribune Business about the announcement from the Dominican Republic’s Jamaican embassy, revealing that The Bahamas has given regulatory approval for the importation of that country’s bitter oranges, pineapples, limes, avocados, bananas and plantain, argued that local Andros farmers already grow most of these items and can expand with support from the Government.

He acknowledged that, while Bahamian farmers do not have the capital or marketing to expand, they do possess the land and willingness to increase supply to meet the country’s food needs.

“Farmers in Andros are having the very same struggle. Why not take the initiative to try to help the farmers and Andros to be able to market and export their produce? All of the items listed, besides bitter orange, farmers in Andros are growing right now - maybe not at the large scale that the country needs - but they can get there because they have access to the land,” Mr Bethel said.

“If they have the opportunity, and marketing is available for them to sell their produce, they will have the incentive to expand and grow more products. Local farmers are looking for opportunity to expand these very same products.

“I don’t understand the concept, and I don’t think it’s fair to local farmers when they are praying and hoping for resources, especially expansion in the packing houses, which give them access to sell and market their produce.”

Jomo Campbell, minister of agriculture and fisheries, said the Dominican Republic announcement was “premature” and no memorandum of understanding (MoU) to facilitate the import deal was yet signed. However, the Dominican Republic embassy said negotiations over exporting a further 80 agricultural products to The Bahamas were ongoing.

Mr Bethel, meanwhile, said Bahamian farmers have voiced their displeasure with the potential import deal and some are currently in the middle of expanding operations. They feel these investments may be endangered if an agreement with the Dominican Republic is finalised.

“They’re pretty upset that the Government is potentially putting them in a position to make it harder for them to sell their crops. I know one particular farmer I spoke with today. He has about 300 native banana trees he told me are bearing, and he’s looking to pick in the next week or two,” said Mr Bethel.

“He has about 500 more suckers he’s getting ready to put down. He’s looking to expand, and there’s another local farmer that is doing something similar. This only going to make it so much more difficult now for them to sell their produce and scale their business.”

The North Abaco Chamber president added that the Government should “revisit” the import plan and put more effort into empowering Bahamian farmers so the country can achieve its food security goals.

“Essentially, they are giving the Dominican farmers a market and an opportunity to sell their produce, and that’s what farmers in Andros have been waiting on for years. I think those products can be sourced locally with the support of the Government, and the Government should revisit the idea of getting produce from the Dominican Republic and continue to fight towards feeding ourselves. And a big part of that should be empowering the existing farmers,” said Mr Bethel.

He branded the deal with the Dominican Republic as an “easy or cheap way out”, and questioned how these imports would benefit the Bahamian public in the long run.“There’s so much that the Government can be doing to take us closer to food security right here in Andros that they are avoidin,g and taking an easy or cheap way out by just importing produce from the Dominican Republic,” Mr Bethel argued.

“I would like to know what is the benefit to our country to do business in the Dominican Republic when you have farmers that are just praying and hoping for the opportunity that they are giving to the farmers in the Dominican Republic? Our farmers are hoping for the same opportunities you’re about to give them. It does make sense.”

Mr Bethel said the North Andros Farmers Association is in need of funding to continue supporting its members, and the industry would benefit from expanding the government packing house or attracting private sector investors to open additional packing houses.

“There’s a local Farmers Association that needs support,” he added. “They need funding in order to be able to support farmers with agriculture produce from the beginning - as a seedling - straight to plant and harvesting. The resources are not there, and all the farmers are now operating in silos try to do it all on their own.

“If the opportunity was there by way of the packing house, be it a private packing house or a government packing house or some initiative to help support the farmers, the industry will certainly expand. The land is there, most farmers have access to a lot of it, but they don’t have access to the capital.”

Mr Bethel said the move shows the Government is “out of touch” with the activities and goals of Bahamian farmers, and suggested it consult with them and determine their needs before importing produce locals are currently trying to market.

“It takes a lot of money to get the land ready to be able to farm on it. Some farmers in Andros have 10 to 20 acres of farm land that they’re not using. They would be willing to expand if they had a market, so I think the first step should be meeting with these local farmers, seeing what is available and what they need to expand,” said Mr Bethel.

“It seems to me that the Government is very out of touch with what the local farmers are doing because those very same products that they’re considering importing, there’s more than 50 local farmers in North Andros growing those crops and a majority of them are trying to find their own markets.”