By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

Agriculture and Marine Resources Minister Jomo Campbell said The Bahamas was the first country in the region to provide locally produced eggs for less than $10 during the recent egg crisis.

Speaking in Parliament yesterday, Mr Campbell defended the work being done by the country’s egg production initiative - the Golden Yolk programme - when challenged by the Opposition to justify continued financial support of the programme.

Opposition deputy leader Shanendon Cartwright questioned why the government allocated $9m for the programme in the 2025/2026 fiscal budget and no eggs were produced.

“Through your contribution, the government has been very boastful about many programmes within your ministry, the Golden Yolk programme, in which the government speaks about in 2023 there was $15m allocated for this programme to produce some 27m eggs for the Bahamian people; $15m, there’s now another $9m that is being thrown at this programme,” said Mr Cartwright.

“During that time, the Bahamian people were faced with high egg prices, and not one egg has been produced. How does the government reconcile an initial $15m and now an additional $9m but not one egg has been produced, zero, while the Bahamian people had to deal with high egg increases?”

Clay Sweeting, Minister of Works and Family Island Affairs, said Mr Cartwright was “misled” on the amount of funds spent of the project and noted that $15m was allocated for the entire project but the full amount was not spent.

“I think that the member for St Barnabas is misled on this…. if they look at the budget right, and they looked at the fund, and looked at the allocation, and the money spent $15m was never spent on the project. But now you talking about something else… he’s trying to accuse the government of spending $15m, and another $9m, which is incorrect, so I recommend the member for Saint Barnabas retract that,” said Mr Sweeting.

He said at the ground breaking for the Golden Yolk project, “we announced what the project would encapsulate, the total of the full project. You can’t say we spent money and we never spend it. We didn’t ask for nothing the allocation was never spent.”

Mr Cartwright fired back that the government failed to produce any eggs since the programme was launched in 2023 but still expects financial support for the initiative.

“We are not hearing from the government why it is after two years from February of 2023 there has been not one egg grow, a dozen, a carton of egg produced from this programme. And now the government is still expecting financial support for this program, so we’re just asking why the Bahamian people want to know why, especially given the fact that they’ve had to deal with the high increase in eggs over the past few months. And while the government boasts about this program, they were unable to bring any real relief to the Bahamian people of which the member of Centerville spoke about,” said Mr Cartwright.

Mr Campbell said that several farmers have received egg layers through the programme and now have eggs for sale at less than $8 per dozen and an additional ten farmers recently received 1,000 eggs through the initiative to resell for under $7. He invited Mr Cartright to visit the Gladstone Road Agricultural site and “see for yourself”.

“I don’t know if it went over his head when I said it, but as a result of the national layer programme that came out through the Golden Yolk programme, we have more than several farms of locally produced eggs now over and as a matter of fact, The Bahamas was the first country in this region to get eggs below the price of $10 a dozen,” said Mr Campbell.

“And I indicated to the member for Saint Barnabas that even today in this country, he can now go to the Gladstone Road agricultural site and purchase from the... programme eggs at under $6 a dozen. He can go to D and T nursery and purchase eggs at under $8 a dozen. And we have recently distributed 1,000 eggs amongst ten farmers, who will all be contracting with us to sell eggs at a reasonable price, under $7. The proof is there in the pudding.

“He can also visit Essential Farms that is run by Dr Cargill, that has eggs being sold for under $8 a dozen. And The Bahamas was the first country in this region to during the egg crisis. And I invite you, St Barnabas, and anyone that wishes to join you because the Golden Yolk site is there, the Gladstone Road set up for all to come and see exactly what we have said.”