The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas Agricultural and Marine Science Institute’s (BAMSI) chairman yesterday said the nationwide roll-out of its “commercial greenhouses” project will begin at the end of May.

Senator Tyrell Young said the “automated, state-of-the-art” facilities will be installed across the Family Islands over several months with the goal of completing this project by July.

“These greenhouses will be erected, and they will be set up and turned over to local farmers to operate their businesses out of. This will allow a lot of crops to be staggered. The greenhouses will allow proper forecasting of crops so that he market will know in advance what is available and when it will be available,” Mr Young added.

Describing the greenhouses as a “game changer” that will allow farmers to grow crops year-round, he said: “This is going to cut-off the seasonal growing in a lot of crops. We are not just setting up one in each island; it’s going to be greenhouse parks. So one island, and one park, is going to have multiple greenhouses and be growing different crops.”

This will allow BAMSI to know the specific produce coming from each Family Island so it can “break down the importation of the particular crops. We are looking at a timeframe of between the end of May to the beginning of July, somewhere in that timeframe.

“Every one of the greenhouses will be assigned to a farmer,” Mr Young continued. “So it will be either on a low lease, or whatever the agreement is, but every farmer is going to have a greenhouse. One farmer to one greenhouse; it is not a community farming initiative.”

BAMSI is also launching its first “pop up market” this Saturday at the Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Stapledon Gardens, which will serve as a platform for backyard farmers who do not have an outlet to sell excess produce.

“For those who overgrow, and they don’t have the means to get rid of these items, this is a platform bringing awareness to what is available and then, also, an outlet for backyard farmers, artisans and agriculturalists to showcase what is available,” Mr Young said. Discussions are taking place over taking the “pop up” initiative to the Family Islands to see if it is “doable” there.

Speaking to newly-passed legislation that gives BAMSI more autonomy, Mr Young said: “BAMSI is officially going to be on the books as a corporation based on the Act. Once the Act becomes effective, which will be coming up some time soon between now and July, the effective date should be set for that to become law.”

The Act is designed to remove undue political meddling and put in place proper governance structures so the school is not swayed from its mandate. The BAMSI Act will also enable it to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with various agricultural institutes around the world, something Mr Young described as “a game changer”.

He added that several agencies, which he did not name, have agreed to provide technical support to BAMSI. “So once the Act comes into effect it is going to go a long way and really help out with our goal, and it’s going to bring more focus on farming and more availability on technology and education for Bahamians,” Senator Young said.