By ANNELIA NIXON

Tribune Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamian company and its Indian partner will invest $24.5m, or more than two-thirds, of the total $35m capital to roll-out a nationwide hydroponic farm initiative, it was revealed yesterday.

Jomo Campbell, minister of agriculture and marine resources, said Sustainable Technology (STL) and UrbanKisaan will inject the majority of the financing required for a project “valued at $35m over a six-year period”.

Speaking at the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between UrbanKisaan, STL and his ministry, he said the Government “will invest $1.2m and will continue to reinvest profits into the project” to make up the balance of the required funding. 

The public-private partnership (PPP) seeks to construct five hydroponic farms throughout the country on Grand Bahama, New Providence, Andros, Abaco and Cat Island. Mr Campbell said the four-stage process includes the “transfer of ownership to the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources, with UrbanKisaan and Sustainable Technology Limited providing ongoing support”.

By the final phase, he added that Bahamians will have been equipped with the skills required to be “the next generation of agricultural entrepreneurs, engineers, and innovators”. Mr Campbell said: “The partnership will be done in four phases.

“Phase one will involve the necessary permits and financing. Phase two will involve the manufacturing, logistics, construction and installation as the project will take place on five islands – Grand Bahama, New Providence, Andros, Abaco and Cat Island. Phase three of the project is a transitional phase.

“As the project progresses, the focus will shift towards knowledge transfer and capacity building, gradually phasing out UrbanKisaan’s role as Bahamians will be trained to assume operational duties. By the fourth phase, the focus will shift to a transfer of ownership to the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources, with UrbanKisaan and Sustainable Technology Limited providing ongoing support.” he added.

“UrbanKisaan and Sustainable Technology will collectively invest a total of $24.5m, while the Government will invest $1.2m and will continue to reinvest profits into the project. By the end of the final phase, we anticipate a workforce predominately composed of fully-trained Bahamian talent.

“This is not just about growing food. It’s about growing people. Through this partnership, we are investing in our own and nurturing the next generation of agricultural entrepreneurs, engineers and innovators.”

Noting that the methods used by UrbanKisaan and Sustainable Technology are environmentally friendly, Mr Campbell added that it is aligned with The Bahamas’ climate goals under the National Development Plan.

“Hence our partnership with UrbanKisaan Farms, an innovative leader in sustainable agriculture, whose cutting-edge hydroponic and vertical farming technologies have redefined what it means to grow food in challenging environments,” Mr Campbell said.

“Their mission aligns seamlessly with our goals to create scalable, high-yield and environmentally responsible solutions for food production that not only feed our people, but also provide economic opportunity, particularly for our youth and small-scale farmers.

“Meanwhile, as a 100 percent Bahamian-owned company, Sustainable Technology is dedicated to addressing food security challenges and the impacts of climate change. This bodes well for the Government’s overall goal of modernising and future proofing our nation’s food systems,” Mr Campbell continued.

“Sustainable Technology is bringing innovative, locally grounded expertise that aligns with our mission to building a resilient, self-reliant Bahamas – one that is prepared to meet the challenges of climate change, while creating new opportunities for our local agriculture industry.

“This MoU is more than a symbolic gesture; it is a framework for action. It lays the groundwork for the establishment of a network of smart farms across our archipelago; farms that use less water, require less land and produce crops year-round.

“It will enable knowledge transfer, skill-building and training programmes that empower Bahamians to become leaders in the future of farming. And it will facilitate the integration of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence and IoT (Internet of Things) systems, into our agricultural landscape, bringing precision, efficiency and scalability to food production like never before.”

Prime Minister Phillip Davis KC said: “Farming has always been in The Bahamas as what they call a seasonal event. We grow crops by the season. That in itself does not ensure sustainability. When you can grow year-round, products will always be available to our people. Think about it.

“The buzzword is food security, and it’s important today, because as the geopolitical issues engulf us, we, as a small island developing state, have to be in a position to say that we are food secure. Remember 9/11, and then we were about a week away from being unable to feed ourselves because everything was shuttered. Remember the pandemic. Everything again was shuttered, and we were scrambling to ensure that we were able to feed ourselves.”