The Tribune

A Cabinet minister says the Government plans to transform the Grand Bahama Farmer's Market into a destination that sells only "authentically Bahamian" produce and handicrafts.

Four new vendor booths, painted in Caribbean colours, will also provide an attractive complement to the existing Farmer’s Market, which was recently toured by Michael Pintard, minister of agriculture and marine resources, and other Grand Bahama-based Cabinet ministers.

The booths, which are being constructed on the Ministry of Agriculture's grounds, will soon be opened and ready for occupation by the Farmer’s Cooperative, the Apiary Cooperative, and other Bahamian entrepreneurs.

Mr Pintard was joined by Senator Kwasi Thompson, just-appointed minister of state for finance, and Iram Lewis, minister of state for disaster preparedness, management and reconstruction, on his visit to the Ministry of Agriculture’s facilities. They are being renovated and refurbished to create extra space.

“We are pleased with the progress that has been made, and we expect this project to be wrapped by the end of the year,” said Mr Pintard. “This is one part of the overall revitalisation of Grand Bahama.”

Mr Thompson added that one of the new buildings will house entrepreneurs who are part of Grand Bahama’s successful youth apiary project, which was launched by the Office of the Prime Minister more than a year ago.

“We enrolled a number of young people in Grand Bahama, trained them, gave them the tools to start a business and partnered with the Bahamas Development Bank, which allowed them to start a cooperative," he said.

“It was a successful cooperative, but unfortunately Hurricane Dorian destroyed their place of operation, as well as destroyed their product, so they had to start again from scratch. We assisted them with some additional grant funding through the Office of The Prime Minister, as well as the Small Business Development Centre

“We made a promise to them that we would find them a home where they could fully operate, sell their wares and find a place where people could come and do business. And so this will be a place they will call home.”

Mr Thompson thanked his agriculture minister colleague for pushing the narrative that Bahamians must learn to feed themselves and have food security. The Apiary Cooperative feeds into this through its production of homegrown honey and honey products.

Mr Lewis, meanwhile, said the new project at the Farmer’s Market will be duplicated below the new Fishing Hole Road Causeway, allowing Grand Bahamians in the west to take advantage of all things Bahamian.