(BIS Photos/Ulric Woodside)

North Andros, Bahamas - Bahamas Information Services this week interviewed a number of community leaders and residents of North Andros to get their feedback on the development of the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) in their community, as the time approaches for the new institute to receive students and open for classes.

The BIS broad range of interviews, soon to be broadcast, included talks with the Administrator for North Andros and the Berry Islands, the Assistant Director of Labour, BAIC Project Manager, Urban Renewal representatives, North Andros High School teachers, high school students who are assisting on the project, construction contractors, and people who live in the area.

Among those who were interviewed and had responded with sometimes interesting insights, Andros and Berry Islands Assistant Director of Labour Michael Colebrooke noted that as the institute expands, his job of monitoring with respect to such things as work permits will become busier as the issue of controls heightens.

Mr. Rai Budhu, science and agriculture teacher, and Ms. Anne Rolle, senior assistant – both at North Andros High School for over 20 years -- were interviewed. Mr. Budhu showed the media team what the school students are learning. He mentioned that his students now sell produce from the school’s farm to Melia Nassau Beach all-inclusive resort of Baha Mar. They have learned that agriculture has become highly technical and are excited and seeing career possibilities become more real.

Farm growers from New York who had flown in to take a look had the view that the nation has the capacity to grow a large range of produce, and in a few years could feed itself – even export to the region. Food processing, they felt, should be a significant part of the picture.