The Tribune

By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

A CABINET minister yesterday asserted that The Bahamas can only be “truly independent” if it achieves food security where its citizens are able to feed themselves.

Jomo Campbell, minister of agriculture and marine resources, said his ministry’s first conclave was an opportunity to ensure all departments are aligned with the common goal of enhancing food security and reducing The Bahamas’ food import bill. He added the number of Bahamians entering the farming and fishing industry has not been expanding with the necessary speed.

Arguing that The Bahamas must be able to feed its citizens to be considered “truly independent”, he said: “The main goal of this conclave today is to ensure that all of the different departments and units under the Ministry realise that there is one collective vision.

“Our mission is to enhance food security in The Bahamas, and also to work towards reducing our food import bill. We have to ensure that, as a nation, we’re able to feed ourselves in order to be truly independent.”

Mr Campbell said the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources intends to increase stakeholder engagement, noting that the number of active farmers and fishermen has not been increasing at a substantial rate. He explained that the ministry will continue to conduct school farming projects to educate young people on agriculture and generate interest in the sector.

“There are many things we have planned, and what’s going to happen is there’s going to be a more concentrated effort on the people whose hands are actually tied to the growth of the ministry,” Mr Campbell said. “When I say that, I mean the local farmers, the fishermen, even down to the backyard farmers and, just as importantly, getting agriculture and the message of this ministry into the schools.

“We realise we go from island to island, and we see that the number of farmers and fishermen has not been increasing to the rate that we would like to see it increase. And so what better place to start than to start in the school, where we have young minds and new energy, and to get them interested and excited about what agriculture has to offer.

“So we’re going to be furthering the efforts of school farming programmes, having the children get that hands on experience.” Mr Campbell added that backyard farming initiatives will also continue throughout The Bahamas.

He said: “We want to further expand our backyard farming communities throughout the different neighbourhoods.

“There used to be a time where every house had a bird pepper tree right to the outside of the house somewhere, and that’s what we need to get back to because all of these things help to contribute towards lowering our food import bill. What’s more important than ensuring that we have a hands-on approach to what we put in our mouths, and what we use to take care of our bodies?”