The Tribune

Two government ministries have forged a partnership designed to boost economic ties between The Bahamas' tourism and agriculture/marine industries to facilitate the latter's growth.

Dionisio D'Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, and Michael Pintard, minister of agriculture and marine resources, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to launch the Agritourism Committee as a body that will improve linkages between local farmers and fishermen and the tourism industry.

Modelled on how other Caribbean countries such as Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua and Jamaica have aided local economic sectors by developing ties to tourism, the Agritourism Committee will be co-chaired by Mark Humes, MP and chairman of the Bahamas Agricultural Health & Food Safety Authority (BAHFSA), and Janet Johnson, chief executive/executive director of the Tourism Development Corporation (TDC).

The Chairs will invite stakeholders and technical organisations, including the Bahamas Hotel & Tourism Association (BHTA, together with agricultural entities such as Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) to participate.

The Tourism Development Corporation, in a statement, said the devastation inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic had acted as a catalyst to further advance the Agritourism Committee alliance. Tourism linkages have now assumed even greater significance for Bahamian farmers and fishermen due to the fall-out from the public health crisis.

It added that 70 crops were identified by a study as suitable for Bahamian farmers to supply to the tourism industry and local food stores. “It is imperative that we foster the linkages with other sectors of our economy in order to ensure that there is direct trickle down from tourism into the hands of Bahamians,” said Mr D’Aguilar.

“Agritourism as a vehicle to elevate our farmer entrepreneurs gives them opportunities to benefit from a much bigger market with regular income to sustain and improve the quality of their livelihoods. I envision chefs making use of the locally-sourced jams, jellies and pepper sauces in their recipes, and visitors being able to purchase the items in the hotel gift shops and/or online as souvenir reminders of their visit.

"We will see new, experiential tours to the pineapple fields in Eleuthera, as well as culinary tours to home gardens and the emergence of innovative features like aquaponics and hydroponic farming tours."

Mr Pintard, meanwhile, challenged the hotel industry to increase its ratio of local fresh produce purchases by 40 percent to reduce import volumes. He challenged Bahamian farmers to support the initiative by growing and perfecting the shapes and flavours of their produce to meet the tourism industry's needs, rather than continuing to grow items that are not likely to yield a good return.

“While we welcome the advantages that a company like Sysco Bahamas Food Services provides the tourism sector,” Mr Pintard said, “we also want to encourage Bahamian investors to form groups and explore these types of possibilities, such as the development of more organic chicken farms and pig farming.

"We’ve put the Government’s abattoir and the canning factories in the Family Islands on the market for interested entrepreneurs to joint venture on, with funding assistance from the Government. Never since the days of Hatchet Bay have there been such exciting opportunities available to those interested in farm entrepreneurship.”

The Tourism Development Corporation said the new thrust in agritourism is being driven by culturally and eco-conscious travellers, who are demanding that restaurants and hotels incorporate fresh fruit, herbs and vegetables from local farms in prepared dishes.