Ladies and gentlemen,
Good afternoon.
It’s great to be here at the Hilltop Agri Village Groundbreaking.
You know, when we talk about putting shovels in the ground, these days, the first thing that comes to mind is a big development or a brand-new building.
But for many years, and for many families, the image of a shovel in the ground was inseparable from agriculture.
From backyard gardening to pothole farming, Bahamians across our archipelago have long been turning the earth to earn a living, provide food for their families, and sustain the integrity of the land they call home.
The importance of farming is hard to overstate, and yet, nowadays, young people often opt to pursue other professions.
For a long time, this perception perception persisted that farming was limited in scope, scale, and opportunity as an industry in The Bahamas.
Fortunately, over time, with a renewed focus on our ability to feed ourselves and create lucrative opportunities within the agricultural sector, our people are beginning to see the great promise within farming as an enterprise and as a way of life.
Eeden Farms, Well Mudda Fungus, and FoodPost Farms are all successful agricultural ventures led by young Bahamians.
They are the exception right now, but it is our hope that the investments our government makes today will encourage more and more young people to farm tomorrow.
Farming has a reputation for being strenuous, less glamorous, blue-collar style work, but friends, farming in 2024 looks completely different from farming in decades past.
We are adapting to new innovations to make farming more economically viable than ever before. This kind of innovation should come naturally to Bahamian farmers, because they have innovated for years, developing novel solutions to our agricultural limitations to ensure that they were able to feed themselves and their communities.
I know Bahamian farmers who have grown the sweetest bananas in sinkholes fifty feet deep, farmers who have picked buckets of passion fruits on salty beaches, and farmers who have pulled the most delicious cassavas and sweet potatoes from our soils.
In Cat Island, I saw my grandparents working the land and living off of the crops they grew. Back then, farming was a way of life. And you couldn’t tell them about what was “impossible” when they were feeding themselves and their families every day. The conditions may not have been perfect, but they made the most of what they had – and the quality of the product was certainly not ‘poor’.
Bahamian farmers are the original innovators.
And it is innovative technology that will take our agricultural sector to the next level.
Today’s ground-breaking is about embracing our past with a view to the future.
This agri-village will use container farm technology to cultivate crops that satisfy both local and visitor demand, all while championing our nation’s foodways and uniting the residents of Centreville.
Meanwhile, a food processing centre will give seasoned and budding entrepreneurs the opportunity to earn from what they grow, igniting new passions and professional ambitions.
As we modernise our agricultural sector, we do so with an awareness that harnessing the power of smart technologies will be crucial to long-term productivity and prosperity, especially as we brace for the mounting impacts of climate change.
In the face of worsening weather events, sea level rise, and saltwater intrusion, modern Bahamian agriculture needs to be strategic, adaptive, and climate-resilient.
The devastating impact of Hurricane Dorian on commercial farms like Abaco Big Bird, which suffered an estimated $1 million in damages, laid bare the urgency of climate adaptation for agriculture in small island developing states (SIDS).
Governments play an important role in this regard, and that is why here in The Bahamas we have advanced the Sustainable Food Growth Grant, which has provided $50,000 in funding to food producers like Abaco Big Bird.
Reducing food imports by 25% is an important target for our food security agenda, one we are pursuing actively through a number of initiatives.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources is to be commended for its recent donation of thousands of dollars’ worth of agricultural supplies to farmers and school programmes in the Family Islands – a contribution that will expose a new generation of Bahamian students to opportunities within the industry.
Our administration is also charging ahead with the Golden Yolk Programme, which aims to empower local farmers to become major egg producers. It is our intention that, in the near future, every egg purchased in a grocery store will be laid right here in The Bahamas.
We have also digitalised government agencies like the Department of Marine Resources to streamline agribusiness, and we are introducing new, accessible services to facilitate a flourishing agricultural sector.
As we embrace digital technologies to support our food producers, we are putting in place the infrastructure they need to thrive.
Three community kitchens are set to be completed by the first quarter of 2025 in New Providence, Eleuthera, and Cat Island – serving as crucial spaces for farmers to process, bottle, and package their excess produce for export.
These facilities, which will be staffed to ensure proper regulation and adherence to international standards, promise to catalyse agricultural exports such as tamarind sauce, goat pepper flakes, and sea grape jelly.
I understand the equipment for these kitchens has already been procured, taking us one step closer to expanding the market reach of our agricultural entrepreneurs.
My friends, we are serious about economic empowerment.
We are giving individuals and businesses the tools they need to improve their lot, and community kitchens are one of the many initiatives in the pipeline.
Farming is our history. It is our culture. And it remains a significant part of our economy – one this government will continue to cultivate.
The Bahamas will gain so much – socially, economically, and culturally – from growing more of its own food.
Enhancing local food production is about empowering Bahamians, reducing our trade deficit, and championing our heritage.
In the case of the Hilltop Agri-Village, it’s also about putting Bahamian food culture at the heart of our tourism product.
My friends, the future is truly bright for agriculture in The Bahamas.
Thank you, and May God bless you all.