The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas "can definitely make significant inroads" into reducing its annual$500 million food import bill, the Bahamas Agricultural Producers Association (BAPA) president said yesterday, although the Government's stated goal of reducing it by 30 per cent over the next five years was "optimistic".

Dr Keith Campbell told Tribune Business: "We have a food import bill of half a billion dollars a year. Definitely we can make significant inroads into the agricultural sector.

"The Government has put agriculture back on the table, it would seem. I am optimistic about the Government's approach to the agricultural sector, based on what they have articulated thus far.

"When you look at the opportunities in the sector, you have to look at the amount of Crown Land we have available. Necessity is the mother of all invention, and having regard to the economic recession, we are looking for the means to expand the economy. The agricultural sector is the means to do so. I look at the agricultural sector as a means of creating sustainable livelihoods for people, and in so doing it will impact what we import."

The newly-appointed minister of agriculture, marine resources and local government, V Alfred Gray, said earlier this week that he will be seeking to reduce how much food is being imported into the Bahamas by up to 30 per cent in his first term in office.

Speaking with The Tribune before his first Cabinet meeting, he added that with agricultural industries basically non-existent in the Bahamas, food security was a top priority for his ministry.

Dr Campbell said: "I think he is being optimistic. It is his role to be optimistic. I would be concerned if he wasn't.

"There is much that we can do. I'm looking forward to a breakthrough in agriculture. It is possible that significant inroads can be made as it relates to reducing the imports into the country. We have to start looking at farmers, agro entrepreneurs and being able to identify the markets in terms of supply and demand."

And Dr Campbell added: "I am heartened to see that the Government is giving renewed focus to the agricultural sector. We look forward to collaborating with them in moving the country forward because we definitely feel that the agricultural sector has a role to play in the expansion, diversification and structural balancing of our economy."