NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC—The Bahamas government has welcomed the Agri-Business Expo’s return after five years, saying it couldn’t be more timely and emblematic of the renewed focus on agriculture.
The Agri-Business Expo 2024, launched over the weekend, is being held under the theme “Agriculture is Bahamian Culture.” Prime Minister Phillip Davis said his administration is taking critical steps to promote agriculture and fisheries as meaningful and lucrative opportunities for Bahamians.
He said the Bahamas has many exciting developments on the horizon, like the US$60 million Blue Inter American Development Bank (IDB) loan targeting micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in the blue economy.
“We have the Bahamas Development Bank and Food and Agriculture Organisation’s partnership to empower women entrepreneurs in agriculture, creative industries, and tourism—a pilot project to establish best practices for the entire region.”
He welcomed the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute’s (BAMSI) exploration of strawberries as a viable local crop, which can open the door to wide-scale strawberry farming as a viable opportunity.
Davis said the government also provides more grants and loans to agriculture and fisheries-based businesses.
He said several years ago that, except for a few pioneering Bahamians, there needed to be more focus on food production as a pathway to entrepreneurial success. But now, many Bahamians are seeing the vast potential.
Prime Minister Davis said that it is no secret that there is vast untapped potential in the country’s agricultural sector, noting that egg production and poultry farming alone represent million-dollar opportunities that local farmers are keen to take advantage of.
“We all recognize the economic advantages of developing agriculture. Passionate Bahamians have evangelized for years about the need to feed ourselves and how we will benefit.
“We can lower the food import bill, keeping more money in the country. We can bring more money into the economy through exports. We can lower the cost of food products at the grocery store. And we can expand access to healthy, fresh produce and animal products in The Bahamas to promote healthier diets.”.
Davis said his administration has committed to reducing the food import bill by 25 percent by 2025.
But to do that, “we need to ensure that our packing houses and abattoirs are meeting the needs of local farmers, which we are actively working on.
“We committed to providing more training, technical support, and capital funding for agribusiness entrepreneurs and farmers, which we have started doing through the Small Business Development Centre’s farming-specific grants, but there is a need to do even more.”
Davis said that BAMSI has also committed to doing more to educate and develop our farmers and provide support through the sharing of technology, research, and best practices.
He said that the Bahamas is home to mangrove systems that act as fish spawning grounds for the entire region, adding, “There is no reason why the “islands of shallow seas” cannot dominate the regional market through effective management of our natural marine resources, and cultivation of new businesses within the industry.
“This government is 100 percent locked in on the potential to grow agriculture and fisheries into central pillars of our economy. No single stakeholder is better positioned to facilitate advancement in agriculture than the government. And we will do our part.”
Prime Minister Davis said that at the Expo, the government will seek to connect farmers with markets to help them expand their businesses.
“We will help those who manufacture or create related products find customers. We will also support enterprising Bahamians in taking their passion for agriculture and fisheries to the next level as entrepreneurs.
“As we scale up our agricultural ambitions, it is only right that Bahamians are the primary beneficiaries. After all, it can only be said that we are “feeding ourselves” if it is predominantly Bahamians who own the farms, the boats, and the factories that are feeding.
“I hope that the return of this Expo truly lives up to its promise to reawaken and reinvigorate the appetite for agriculture and fisheries in this country as a viable and profitable pathway for entrepreneurship and national development,” Davis said.
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