The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Bahamian agriculture's push to reduce the country's $1bn annual food import bill has been boosted by the Government's $400,000 acquisition of the first new animal feed mill in 40 years.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources, in a statement, said the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC) has now received the feed mill that was imported from India.

Jomo Campbell, minister of agriculture and marine resources, said: “I’m extremely excited by the arrival of this new feed mill. We will now be in a position to begin the remarkable journey of transformation the agricultural industry.”

The Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources said the previous mill was only used to feed the animals at the ministry’s Gladstone Road Agricultural Centre (GRAC). Its replacement will now supply feed for livestock farmers across the country.

Leroy Major, BAIC's chairman, said: “The Government has invested in a real feed mill that will supply feed continually for the entire country.” He added that this will enable Bahamian farmers to save on expensive feed imports.

“The money can now stay in country,” Mr Major said. “This feed mill can now do crumble and pellets for an array of animals like fish, pigs, chicken,and much more.”

The feed mill will also play a vital role in the Government’s Golden Yolk Programme, which was launched earlier this year. This initiative aims to slash The Bahamas' food import bill by $12.5m by increasing Bahamian egg production from 750,000 to more than 27m eggs per year.

“This feed mill is stage one for the Golden Yolk Programme, and stage two will consist of constructing chicken houses and we’ll continue from there,” Mr Major said.

As part of the sustainable food programme, 38 new egg houses will be created on 12 islands as the Government seeks to produce 13m eggs in the Family Islands.

Mr Major urged farmers across The Bahamas to expand their livestock, adding: “I believe we will soon begin to see the benefit from this. This is a great work we are doing for the industry."