Nichollﾴs Town, Andros – Kerzner International, creator of Atlantis on Paradise Island, wants Bahamian farmers to have its 561 acres of prime farm land near the airport here, at a price to be negotiated.
ﾓI am trying to bring it nearer to the thousand dollar range (per acre),ﾒ said North Andros Member of Parliament Vincent Peet, the Minister of Labour and Immigration.
ﾓThe initial offering would have been more than that – under $2,000 an acre. But I am trying to encourage them to go a little lower.ﾒ
Kerzner Internationalﾴs Senior Vice President, J Barrie Farrington, told a town meeting here Wednesday night his company was willing to work with The Bahamas Development Bank in finding a reasonable formula.
ﾓWe would like to dispose of the property here and to do it in a fashion that is fair and equitable for everyone here in the community,ﾒ he said.
Rev Edward Godet, president of the North Andros Agriculture Association hailed the ﾓvery good news. I am looking for this being a blessing to the area as our farmers would be able to empower themselves by owning the land.
ﾓIt is something farmers have been looking forward to for a long time. They have been working the land for a very long time; putting money into it; and they would like to own it.ﾒ
Scores of North Andros farmers attending the meeting also heard from Bahamas Development Bank Senior Manager, Jerome Ferguson, North Andros Administrator Dr. Huntly Christie and Senior Agriculture Officer Stephen Adderley.
Most of the farmers near the San Andros Airport, Mr. Peet told the meeting at the North Andros High School, were working on land that they leased or ﾓborrowed.ﾒ
ﾓThe time has come for the land that you have been using for some time to be conveyed to you,ﾒ said Mr. Peet.
ﾓAndrosians need to be empowered and land is wealth. It is important that you have title to the land that you have been farming so you can have something to pass on to your children and to invest with.ﾒ
Mr. Peet said he has been in discussions with Mr. Farrington for more than a year.
ﾓIt is a difficult exercise but one that is necessary,ﾒ said Mr. Peet. ﾓThe Bahamas Development Bank will have to help us find the formulaﾅto have the land conveyed to farmers under certain conditions.
ﾓThe important thing is that the land was owned by Resorts International for years. When Kerzner bought Resorts, the land was bought by Kerzner. So, you have been farming on land that has not been yours for a long time.
ﾓMany of you have a concern about the fact that this is your bread and butter and something needs to be done to give you some security.ﾒ
He introduced Kerznerﾴs Senior Vice President, Mr. Farrington, as ﾓsomeone who is prepared to work with us to make the transition of ownership to empower our people.ﾒ
Mr. Farrington told the meeting that a 1986 survey determined many of the persons who were farming the land.
ﾓWe entered into leases with those we could identify,ﾒ he said. ﾓIt wasnﾴt intended to impose financial burdens on anyone here in the community but we felt it essential to regularize it so it didnﾴt get into a situation where ultimately there would be some kind of legal fight over ownership.ﾒ
Mr. Farrington called for a ﾓcreativeﾒ approach to having the land conveyed to farmers.
ﾓWe are going to need a lot of co-operation and a lot of willingness,ﾒ he said. ﾓI am going to rely heavily upon Mr. Ferguson and the Development Bank to assist us in finding the formula.
ﾓWe are quite willing to work with the Development Bank, with Minister Peet, with the North Andros community to find a suitable way of getting the land conveyed to those persons who want to farm the land.ﾒ
The Development Bank, he said, can be a vehicle that will enable persons to acquire parcels of land ﾓhopefully upon terms and conditions that are not burdensome.
ﾓWe want to make it as easy as possible for all of you who have an interest in acquiring land in those areas to do so in the relatively near future.ﾒ
The acquisition and farming of the land, said Mr. Farrington, would constitute a challenge and an opportunity.
ﾓWe are in the hotel business and we use a lot of produce and we use it year roundﾅ We are going to be the largest resort outside of Las Vegas in the world. It means that it has to be supplied with produce ﾖ tomatoes and cucumbers and romaine lettuce, onions.
ﾓHowever we run a really world class, first class resort. We are established in the world. We are established because we have set high standards and because we live up to those standards and we deliver on what we promise to the people who come and stay at our hotel.
ﾓSo your responsibility as farmers is that your produce must be of a quality and of a standard and availability that would enable us to create that linkage between our hotel and the farmers here and maybe in other parts of Andros and Abaco.
ﾓWe are quite receptive to doing that but it is all predicated upon being able to maintain the kind of standards that are acceptable to our operation.ﾒ
Agriculture Association president Rev. Godet said North Andros farmers are earning ﾓthe highest prices that I have ever experienced. This has been a tremendous time for us.
ﾓThe quality of our product as is good as it gets. Once you get stuff from the North Andros Agriculture Association, you know you are getting quality.
Gladstone Thurston, The Bahama Journal
