{"id":10499,"date":"2011-07-25T09:19:55","date_gmt":"2011-07-25T13:19:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/?p=10499"},"modified":"2011-08-02T09:26:32","modified_gmt":"2011-08-02T13:26:32","slug":"baic-paves-way-for-south-andros-agriculture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/2011\/07\/baic-paves-way-for-south-andros-agriculture","title":{"rendered":"BAIC Paves Way For South Andros Agriculture"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
In anticipation of the opening of the craft centre downtown Nassau, South Andros children are taught new skills. (BIS photo\/Gladstone Thurston)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A road being constructed by Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC) into South Andros\u2019 pine land could open that region to large scale agriculture, a town meeting there was told.<\/p>\n

BAIC executive chairman Edison M. Key also disclosed plans to assist Bahamians obtaining land and becoming established there.<\/p>\n

In pledging BAIC\u2019s \u201cfull support,\u201d he called on the Ministry of Education to place more emphasis on agriculture in the public schools.<\/p>\n

South Androsians packed the Marion E. Forbes Community Centre on Thursday night (July 21) to be updated on BAIC\u2019s initiatives to increase food production nationally.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of Sweet Cayenne pineapple plants were given to the South Andros Farmers Association for distribution. Already farmers have taken advantage of access into the fertile pine land to start plantings of peas, beans, corn and pumpkins.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a lot of confidence in the potential of Andros to go a long way in saving this nation from the ramification of soaring food prices, as has already been predicted by the Secretary General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN,\u201d said Mr. Key.<\/p>\n

He told of \u201cmany opportunities being made available\u201d to South Androsians to earn an income at home.<\/p>\n

He encouraged them to take advantage of the government\u2019s grants to assist persons becoming established in business.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf start-up money has been holding you back, here is an opportunity to move forward,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The three-mile road from Queen\u2019s Highway in Duncombe\u2019s Coppice to the pine land, he said, is not yet to his satisfaction.<\/p>\n

But, the quality of the land is comparable to the fertile land found in North Andros where agriculture has been a mainstay.<\/p>\n

It is the intention of BAIC to acquire several hundred acres of the pine land, subdivide it into manageable plots and, for a nominal fee, lease it to South Androsians and other Bahamians for the purpose of food production, he told the meeting.<\/p>\n

Toward that end, Audley Greaves, Undersecretary, Ministry of Land and Local Government; Philip Weech, Director, The Bahamas Environment, Science and Technology Commission; and Walter McKinney, Engineer, Ministry of Public Works and Transport joined Mr. Key.<\/p>\n

Dr. Marikis Alvarez, Bahamas representative for the Inter-American Institute for Co-operation in Agriculture was also there along with BAIC\u2019s executive team.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we get set up, BAIC will provide assistance with land clearing, field preparation, and the provision of stock,\u201d said Mr. Key.<\/p>\n

Already BAIC has started distribution in South Andros of Persian lime, banana and plantain trees. He promised them shipments of mangoes, avocados, and guavas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must feed this nation,\u201d he said. \u201cI cannot sufficiently emphasise to you the fact that we import some $500 million worth of food each year to feed our resident and tourist populations.<\/p>\n

\u201cKnowing that much of that imported food can be produced here, imagine what it would do for South Andros if just a fraction of that was spent in support of South Andros\u2019 food production,\u201d he said. \u201cOvernight South Andros would become a centre of economic activity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Key pointed to additional opportunities for South Andros artisans when the multi-million dollar craft centre opens downtown Nassau.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is our hope and we are fighting for it as a matter of principle, that only authentic Bahamian items be displayed there,\u201d said Mr. Key.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat being the case, I look forward with keen anticipation to seeing the South Andros brand proudly showcased.\u201d<\/p>\n

The South Andros Handicraft and Manufacturers Association is headed by Mrs. Emily Rahming.<\/p>\n

He encouraged South Androsians to consider coconut processing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI fail to see why we have to import so much coconut products when we have a virtual plantation of coconut trees in South Andros,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd processing coconut products has gone modern, there being machines for de-husking, de-shelling, grating, and milk and oil extracting.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, whatever it takes to get you on your feet, we will do the best we can to assist.\u201d<\/p>\n

By Gladstone Thurston
\nBahamas Information Services<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A road being constructed by Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC) into South Andros\u2019 pine land could open that region to large scale agriculture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10223285771444175_51037792744":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[80,23,40,59,119],"class_list":["post-10499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business","tag-agriculture","tag-food","tag-government","tag-islands","tag-roads"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10499"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10499\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}