{"id":8592,"date":"2011-05-16T08:01:42","date_gmt":"2011-05-16T12:01:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/?p=8592"},"modified":"2011-05-16T08:40:32","modified_gmt":"2011-05-16T12:40:32","slug":"bright-outlook-for-andros","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/2011\/05\/bright-outlook-for-andros","title":{"rendered":"Bright Outlook For Andros"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Dr. Paul Crevello, CEO, Bahamas Petroleum Company Plc, spoke of oil exploration in The Bahamas during the second Andros Business Outlook, May 11. (BIS Photo\/Gladstone Thurston)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Andros is poised to become \u201cthe saviour of this nation,\u201d the second Andros Business Outlook was told.<\/p>\n

And \u201call must be done\u201d to ensure that it plays its rightful role as an engine for social and economic development, said Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC) executive chairman Edison M. Key.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to do what is necessary to bring Bahamians to the realisation that for the most part Nassau has outgrown itself and is unable to take this nation to the next level if only for the reason that it has run out of space,\u201d said Mr. Key. \u201cAll Andros has is space.\u201d<\/p>\n

To give New Providence a badly needed breather, he suggested that the government look at establishing a major subdivision in North Andros built around the agriculture and craft industries.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe land is here,\u201d he asserted. \u201cLet the government put in the roads, and electricity and water lines and sell lots to Bahamians at the cost of putting in the infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been done before with great success. It will encourage Androsians and others who want to live and work here, to in fact do so. There are a lot of people in New Providence who would love to come back home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Key was the keynote speaker at the second Andros Business Outlook, May 11, in Nicholl\u2019s Town, North Andros. The Counsellors Limited hosted the event.<\/p>\n

Also discussed at the all-day forum were tourism, national insurance, petroleum exploration in the Bahamas, agri-business, the forestry industry, the role of cooperatives, and investment opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe future of Andros is as bright as the noonday sun,\u201d said Mr. Key. \u201cThe seeds we have sown in Andros over the nearly four years I have been the executive chairman at BAIC have all borne forth an abundance harvest.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that is just an indication of the magnitude of Andros\u2019s potential as the saviour of this nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

He told of efforts to \u201cinculcate an entrepreneurial spirit in Bahamians in an effort to break the ever-present dependency syndrome.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuided therefore by our mandate, we at BAIC have been on a mission to empower Bahamians to take advantage of the many opportunities in The Bahamas to earn a decent living.\u201d<\/p>\n

For example, BAIC, he said, sought to encourage Bahamians to tap into the $500 million used to import food products by making hundreds of acres of arable land available to them on Andros, Abaco and Eleuthera.<\/p>\n

The response, he said, has been \u201cencouraging.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUtilising modern techniques of land preparation and fertigation, farmers, especially in Andros, have increased production across the board,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSupermarket operators tell us that the quality of fruits and vegetables from Andros is at least as good as any of the imports.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through its \u2018Buy Fresh; Buy Bahamian\u2019 initiative, he said, BAIC has been able to bring producers, buyers and the general public together \u201cin what is developing into a very fruitful relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we were to provide for ourselves just half of our food imports, we would at the same time put a huge dent in unemployment,\u201d said Mr. Key. \u201cAndros can do it!\u201d<\/p>\n

Another area where BAIC is opening doors of opportunity is through its Handicraft Development and Marketing Department.<\/p>\n

\u201cArmed with our best handicraft trainers, we have been on another mission instructing Bahamians in the fine art of souvenir production, utilising basically the ingredients found in the local environment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a smashing success. Some 2,000 artisans have been trained, handicraft associations formed, and local and national festivals and exhibitions held.<\/p>\n

\u201cOpportunities for small and medium-size enterprises abound in the craft and souvenir industry especially now that the multi-million dollar craft centre downtown Nassau is nearing completion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through its Business Services Department, BAIC offers seminars and workshops on a range of proven successful business strategies, best practices, and real life business experience, he said.<\/p>\n

Held in conjunction with the College of The Bahamas, the sessions are open to the public and are free of charge.<\/p>\n

Topics discussed included Business Planning and Forecasting; Developing and Executing a Business Model; Business Finance and Venture Capital; Customer Service; and, Security.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur confidence in Andros is very high,\u201d said Mr. Key. \u201cIts potential is great.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Andros is poised to become \u201cthe saviour of this nation,\u201d the second Andros Business Outlook was told.<\/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":[1],"tags":[80,153,23,59],"class_list":["post-8592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local","tag-agriculture","tag-business-2","tag-food","tag-islands"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8592","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=8592"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8592\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}