The Tribune

A BAHAMAS government minister recently appeared on TV in Brazil to talk about climate change and the farming industry.

Minister of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Family Affairs Clay Sweeting appeared on the TV show Agro America to discuss the importance of mitigating the control of climate change, modernising the farming industry, and partnership with the Ministry of Tourism.

“COP 26 was monumental from the various events hosted on the side as well as the Prime Minister’s speech calling for the grave concern for action regarding safeguarding small island developing states such as The Bahamas,” said Mr Sweeting.

He said The Bahamas is ranked in the top ten most vulnerable countries to climate change - but the air quality has been tested as the purest in the world.

He said The Bahamas can do its part in assisting with climate change and hold larger countries accountable for contributions to the changes and to ensure humane actions are taken to protect more vulnerable countries.

The Bahamas is the first Caribbean country to join the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate Change.

Mr Sweeting recently conducted an tour of farms throughout The Bahamas and has promoted a public campaign to encourage backyard farming and self-sustainability in The Bahamas. He introduced the “Agrix” app intended to improve information exchange between farmers, officers and others throughout the agricultural sector.

The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) partnered with the Ministry of Agriculture for a pilot project. In sponsoring the AgroMas programme, IICA representative Mari Stull said: “IICA strongly supports the minister’s efforts to increase agribusiness opportunities, self-sustainability, and a heightened awareness of climate issues in The Bahamas.

“I was pleased we were able to highlight The Bahamas priorities in these areas internationally and applaud Minister Sweeting’s initiatives. Minister Sweeting’s interview on Brazil’s national TV show was well received and I believe the segment will be replayed again this week.”