As the services industry is affected by external markets, will we see a resurgence in agriculture?

There has been a clear resurgence in agriculture in recent times, especially following the dramatic events surrounding the financial crisis at the end of 2007. We had a spike in commodity prices in 2008 and then everything in Barbados inverted. We had previously been following the doctrine of comparative advantage: foreign exchange was plentiful, and commodities were cheap and then in 2008 when everything turned, suddenly food security became the mantra.

Owing to this, an emphasis was again put on agriculture, and this agency in particular, to deliver much higher levels of agricultural production and to move the country along the path towards food and nutrition security. As a result of the new focus on primary production, institutions like the BIDC recognise that manufacturing in terms of agro-processing, is a key area of growth for the country. We have come full circle: we departed from agriculture 50 years ago, and now we have returned with a new model of agriculture and see it as a growth area for the economy.

How has the agriculture sector evolved, and what is BADMC’s role in this evolution?

We have moved away from sugar in agriculture, and we are moving into an entirely new aspect of this sector: agripreneurship. This poses as a challenge as the culture of Barbadians is very risk-averse, as a legacy from the mercantile system – we seem happier to go into trade rather than going into manufacturing. Another challenge is that we are dealing with smaller  smaller players who may have a good idea but do not have the access to the machinery or the capital. This is exactly the role of the BADMC, as we help to secure the marketing, assist with packaging and standardisation, amongst a great many other things to ensure that the are ready to enter the market with their product.

How is the BADMC trying to reduce food imports?

 We have under 300,000 residents and over a million visitors coming to the island, so the demands on the food market are much greater than they initially appear for the size of the country.

The difficulty that we have with primary production is that it is mainly small farming. The hospitality sector does not want to rely on this type of farming as production tends not to be very consistent. So the hotels import straight out of Miami, instead of using the produce   from Barbados.

The BADMC has stepped into this once again with a comprehensive management information system for the agriculture sector. We have recorded all crops grown by farmers in the districts we monitor. In this way, we can forecast yields and forecast production, along with the exact time that farmers will harvest crops. When we have refined this initiative, we will be able to tell the government that we want import restrictions on certain crops, thereby ensuring fair demand for Barbadian produce. Conversely, we can rationalise produce imports when there are local shortfalls.

With this intervention, the packaging houses, and the management information system, the BADMC can bridge the gap between primary production and the hospitality sector’s demand for fresh produce.