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Bahamas Government Focus On Food Security For The Islands' People
Related to country: Bahamas

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Government Focus On Food Security:
By Kendea Jones -
Nassau, Bahamas:


The government is working feverishly to help Bahamian farmers to produce their own food in the midst of a worldwide food crisis, according to Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources Larry Cartwright.

Food prices in The Bahamas have already increased significantly over the last few months.

For instance, in Grand Bahama, in February the reported cost for items such as limes/lemons had gone up by 42.5 percent; for apples, 37 percent; butter, 27.6 percent and sweet peppers, 19.2 percent.

In New Providence, prices in February on tangerines were up 9.4 percent; limes/lemons, 7.6 percent and canned milk, 3.6 percent.

Other food items that advanced the consumer price index included, but were not limited to, frozen fruits and juices, dried vegetables, roast beef, tomato paste, lamb, fresh whole chicken and grapes.

The Department of Statistics said the food and beverage group was impacted "tremendously" by rising prices.

Minister Cartwright indicated on Sunday that the government is on the ball.

"We already have some things that were happening towards that end," he said. "We are targeting North Andros right now and we are dividing our plots over there and doing the same thing through Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC) in Eleuthera and Abaco."

Minister Cartwright said in these islands, there is a particular focus being placed on limes.

"In order to alleviate the lime crisis, we are developing 100 acres of land in North Andros and Eleuthera so by the end of this year and early next year, you will see more limes around than you really need," he said.

The minister also said that the government is putting emphasis on starchy foods like cassava and potatoes.

"We are putting more emphasis on these crops because you know with the rice shortages we are going to find ourselves without a lot of starchy foods and so in The Bahamas we grow potatoes and cassava and we are encouraging farmers to produce more of that," Minister Cartwright said.

He said many farmers have already stepped up to the challenge of feeding Bahamians in great numbers.

"In particular, we have pineapples going in Eleuthera, onions in abundance in North Andros, Exumians are now farming again and we are getting all kinds of pleas from them and we are helping them out. There is farming in Cat Island, Grand Bahama and Abaco. We have our challenges but we are doing our best," Minister Cartwright said.

One of the challenges he said was the fact that The Bahamas is an archipelago and so it makes it difficult to transport fresh produce in a short period of time.

"What we produce in Mayguana it’s difficult to get it to New Providence because of our shipping problems and the distance factor and what we produce in Long Island - as near as that is to New Providence by the time we get it there, without refrigeration on the boat, it is difficult to get it to New Providence in a fresh state," Minister Cartwright said.

He said there is a possibility that Bahamians are also able to export. However, he said the government is focusing on making sure that The Bahamas is sustained.

"Our goal is food security," he said. "We are trying to produce food for our own people. But if the farmers have an abundance we can lean in that direction, but the government is not pushing that at this time."

He suggested that the world food crisis would cause The Bahamas problems in accessing traditional food imports.

"As a result of the food crisis, those producing countries are probably going to start holding for themselves and once they begin to that we are going to find that we are going to start having shortages in The Bahamas as far as imports are concerned," Minister Cartwright said.

The cost of food worldwide has climbed 40 percent since 2007, world food experts say.

Rising populations, strong demand from developing countries, increased cultivation of crops for biofuels and increasing floods and droughts have sent food prices soaring across the globe.

According to the United Nations, around 100 million of the world's poorest people who previously did not require help now can not afford to buy food.

Overall, Minister Cartwright said he is optimistic that The Bahamas is going to be able to sustain itself.

"I believe that we are going to be successful in producing much more food this year than last year and years prior to that," he said.

April 28, 2008

April 28, 2008 | 11:11 PM Comments  0 comments

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