The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas imports 85 per cent of the food products it consumes, the Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources yesterday branding this asituation “untenable”.

Speaking at the eigth annual Exuma Business Outlook, V Alfred Gray said: “The Bahamas only produces 15 per cent of what the people eat. We bring in 85 per cent of what we eat.

“That tells me that if the foreign countries do not provide food for Bahamians, we will all likewise perish. you remember September 11, when the US stopped aircraft and boats from coming in and they held that embargo in place for 14 days or thereabouts.

“If they had extended that embargo for six months we would have had no food. We do not grow enough food for us to eat. That is untenable, that is not a good position for us to be in. We have allowed ourselves to depend on other countries for our very survival. Agriculture is as important to the economy of our country and the sustainability of our country as any other aspect of our economy.”

Mr Gray called on Exuma farmers to become more involved in producing food, particularly the products consumed in local hotel properties.

“The Ministry of Agriculture cannot do it alone,” he said. “Exuma, you had started to do a good work in agriculture. Over the last several years, though, Exuma’s agriculture has become stagnant. They are not doing what they used to do in sufficiency of quality and quantity.

“I believe that Exuma can and must do more. You invite 280,000 visitors a year. What do they eat? Food from Mexico, Brazil and Guatemala and, if you’re lucky, you might get a pint of grits from Exuma. Exuma is rich in abundance of good soil but you need people to do it. I want to see more of you becoming involved in producing some of the food that we eat.”

Mr Gray said a packing house for Exuma was in the works. “The plans have been drawn, the costs have been estimated and will soon go to tender,” he added.

“It is my hope that someone from Exuma will get the job to build it. There is hope the packing house will be completed in a year or less. It is envisaged that the packing house system will soon be managed by BAIC so that things move a little faster for you. Your payments will be made a bit more quickly because under the expected regime you could get paid today or tomorrow.”