The Tribune

The Bahamas Development Bank (BDB) has teamed with other government and international agencies to revive sheep, goat and pig farming in The Bahamas.

The institution, in a statement, said it has teamed with the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources, and the Caribbean Agriculture Research Development Institute (CARDI), to launch the Small Ruminant Revitalisation Programme (SRRP). The initiative kicked-off on Tuesday, March 3, with a three-day workshop at the NGM Major High School in Deadman's Cay, Long Island.

The programme aims to reinvigorate small ruminant (sheep and goat) and pig stocks in The Bahamas by offering both training, and financing, to new and existing farmers. Long Island has been selected for the launch.

Besides providing fresh meat to Bahamians, the initiative's objectives for the next five years include improving The Bahamas' foreign exchange earnings by 2.5 percent through replacing goat, sheep and pig-related imports with home-grown stock.

It aims to expand Family Island economies by one percent annually through establishing five small ruminant and pig farming enterprises, which will support at least ten new jobs on each island. The BDB said the programme also intends to give Family Island youth an opportunity for employment in their own communities, broaden wealth creation via new businesses, and boost food security.

The programme has four interconnected components designed to address the structural and market challenges faced by small farmers. The first, education and training, provides persons with an overview of the industry, programme design and business management. The introductory workshop was hosted by the BDB, CARDI and the Department of Agriculture this week on Long Island.

CARDI and Department of Agriculture certified trainers will provide ongoing technical training, support and supervision for the first five years of the initiative. The second component, establishing programme participants and their roles' ensures that that all areas of the value chain are supported through close collaboration between farmers, government inspectors, slaughterhouse/harvesting inspectors, truckers, shippers, and agriculture marketers and brokers.

Government support, the third component, includes policy setting and strengthening institutions along with operational support. The BDB will provide the fourth component, access to funding, through affordable loans once candidates successfully complete the training and education element as well as an initial business plan submission and borrowing evaluation.

The funding will help farmers and entrepreneurs secure resources and partnerships that will start their businesses using the SRFP model.

The SRRP was developed as part of the Bahamas Development Bank's sectoral development approach, which supports emerging industries by directing training, financing and policy support to entrepreneurs in areas of national interest that meet The Bahamas' sustainable development goals.