NASSAU, The Bahamas – The Bahamas must feed
itself as a matter of urgency, Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie
relayed to delegates at the Opening Ceremony of the 26th Inter-Sessional
Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community
(CARICOM) at Melia Nassau Beach Resort,
February 26-27.
“Currently, The Bahamas imports almost
everything that we eat, a situation that is common in many CARICOM nations,”
said Mr. Christie. “Our annual food import bill is approximately one billion
United States dollars. My Government has decided that it is time that “we must
grow what we can and only buy what we must.”
To this end, Mr. Christie said that the government
has embarked on meeting its agricultural needs with the creation of the Bahamas
Agricultural and Marine Sciences Institute (BAMSI). He welcomed the Director General of the Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Dr. Jose Graziano da Silva and Ministers of
Agriculture of CARICOM member states who have been meeting in Nassau.
On Tuesday, February 24, during a luncheon at
the British Colonial Hilton, Prime Minister Christie invited input from the
Agriculture Ministers on sustainable methods to reduce the country's dependence
on food imports and towards expansion of BAMSI. The following day, the
Ministers of Agriculture visited North Andros for a site tour of the institute. Mr. Christie said that BAMSI is a $20 million
investment and that it would become the tool that would demonstrate that
substantial cuts can be made in the country’s huge food import bill.
“Over the next two years, it is envisioned
that we will reduce food import by 20% in as many as 30 imported crops and, in
time, through our value added strategy, improve that percentage incrementally,”
said Mr. Christie.
He said that this objective ties in well with
the government’s agenda to enhance human capital and also the theme of the
current inter-sessional meetings, which is, ‘Leveraging CARICOM’s Human,
Cultural and National Resources for the Economic Development of the Community.’
“My government is committed to eliminating
the perceived stigma of backyard farming amongst idle youth and highlighting
the prestige and longevity of a career in agriculture, marine resources and
other spin-off economic industries.”
