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What Is The Food Security Plan For Barbados?

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Comment posted by BU family member  Marcus Gravvy on the Agriculture In Barbados At The Crossroads blog

Sorry agriculture going nowhere fast!

Look dey could put Einstein to be Minister for all I care. Is there a comprehensive plan with allocated resources (land, money, equipment, training, marketing, etc) for agriculture? Other than wishful thinking and vague generalities please tell me. What is Barbados food security plan? Have we identified areas of comparative advantage? OK it is early days yet for this administration but sorry if I’m cynical but I’ve heard this song before. For a man who has been in agriculture for so many years what is Benn’s solution to say praedial larceny? He couldn’t get farmers to work with the BAS scheme some years ago so what will he come with now?

I hear the minister call for increased fines but the police don’t catch anybody so dey could have de death penalty for stealing crops yuh got to catch the crooks and prosecute first. Furthermore, the same people who was advising the last guvment advising this one and I am to expect something different? and Atlee Brathwaite bogged down at Water Authority when he should be full time engaged in an agriculture sector enhancement program…
Also remember the farmer up in St John (can’t remember his name he used to be a land surveyor, ah think it was Kinch) who grew vegetables and installed flood lights and had dobermans to help patrol his fields? He shot at a few tiefs, I heard once the tiefs shot back. He sell out to Clico, (who own most of the plantation land in St.John). Look at the state of their fields and yuh can’t get a tomato or an okra from those lands now! Look at the state of Colleton yard or Todds yard. Clico got money, they are a serious company but what is their plan for their considerable land holdings? Yuh mean they had to wait for the DLP to get elected before they do something?  Government running BADMC, which running the sugar industry, what they doing with all the old factory yards that all over the island. Couldn’t some of these be refurbished as post harvest centers and rural business centres as part of a rural development thrust?

What is the story with Black Belly Sheep? Vincent Layne and COW trying something but are they getting any help?  While Barbados may not be major meat supplier couldn’t we be suppliers of associated technology and know-how to say Guyana or Suriname where land is available. What going on with cotton? One of the most knowledgeable persons in cotton growing, trained both here and in Israel, get runway from B’dos and working as a teacher in New York! Wuh Benn gun do bout dat. Rotherly investing in greenhouses up in St Thomas and the Ministry begging them fuh advice. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? What about urban gardening? De Cubans and de Venezuelans developing this kind of intense farming wuh we doing? UWI had some success with responding to onion blast but OGarro left UWI gone working for the UN and I ain’t hear anybody continuing this kind of work (but I could be wrong). But wunnuh hear of plans to invest money in biotechnology at UWI? I hear bout a FIFA football pitch, and a masters in African History. Wuh going on wid de Scotland District other than it washing way?

Look Scout and Peppa wunnuh want to shoot a tief but duh got much much more to dis agriculture thing but I understand yuh want to send a message.

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17 responses to “What Is The Food Security Plan For Barbados?”

  1. David Avatar
    David

    Did we read/hear in the media today PM Thompson suggesting that although he sympathized with Patrick Bethell he couldn’t agree with the destruction of the food? If we are wrong we stand corrected.

    The truth is PM Thompson is partially correct that farmers need to develop strategies to protect their crops but farmers like Bethell and others need the government to run interference in the current climate. Obviously there is a well organized ring which is targeting the farmers. They need help.

  2. Straight talk Avatar
    Straight talk

    Unfortunately David ,the bad guys may be organinised, but the white hats, GOB and RBPF aren’t.

    Whilever we have unlicensed vendors and unscrupulous stores providing the uncontrolled outlet the farmers will be plagued by praedial larceny.

    Eventually the hardworking, honest farmers will say enough is enough and
    call it a day.
    It is already happening, I know of several.

    The golden goose when slaughtered will provide no more and then where are we?

    Thompy’s weasel words to farmers could be translated as “grow as much as you want, but allow for the poor black man to come and steal whatever he needs for him to make a living”.

    That’s food security?

  3. The scout Avatar
    The scout

    I think most bajans are missing the point. Guyanese are no longer working land for bajans, they want to rent the land at a small fee, about $500.00 per year. This they can make as a small percentage of their first crop. The thing is if they can get the bajan farmer frustrated and stop farming , then rent them the land, they would be making money and about 75% of the praedial larceny stop, done just so.This is big business, well organised. We, bajans are playing with a very poisonous snake and think it’s harmless because it make look so. Tis only when it strikes that you realise the danger. Watch it, the tail rattling, you should know what comes next.A word to the wise.

  4. BAFBFP Avatar
    BAFBFP

    The Scout
    YA LIE… I jus’ don’ believe dah… Sorry!

    Gravvy
    “But wunnuh hear of plans to invest money in biotechnology at UWI? I hear bout a FIFA football pitch, and a masters in African History.”
    I laffin’ at Beckles too. What a shite to have so readily lost his way…

  5. The scout Avatar
    The scout

    BAFBFP
    Like a lot of gullible bajans, I don’t expect you to believe me. Plus don’t be sorry for me, I’m prepared for it, just remember when the truth is told, it is I who told you first.Old people always used to say”when ya play wid fire ya gine get burn.”

  6. The People's Democratic Congress Avatar
    The People’s Democratic Congress

    Whereas it is important to look at the actual use of NOT so old approaches and methods like green house farming techniques, aqua-fish farming and automated techologies in agriculture/agro/food processing and manufacturing respectively, to help bring about needed improvements in efficiency, product, and revenue output in those sectors and in Barbados, we will still end up FOOLING ourselves that agriculture and manufacturing, in particular, and the entire industrial and commercial affairs of this country, in general, can simply be at this stage resuscitated and repositioned to achieve sustainable growth rates and patterns WITHOUT farreaching, substantial positive political, material and financial changes being brought about in those sectors and in the country.

    By simply tinkering and playing with a mixture of old archaic and rehashed policies, methods, and schemes that will only be capable of, at most, helping bring about superficial short term positive changes in those sectors and the country, and at the worst, helping bring about greater decline and stagnation in the agricultural/agro/food-processing and manufacturing sectors and throughout the country, would indeed be the among the gravest blunders that stakeholders of these sectors and the government and NGOs would be making within the planning and the implementation confines and processes of those particular policies, methods and schemes.

    Well, at a time when Barbados is entering into the violent throes of a raging so-called economic recession, many thousands of people and interests within these sectors in Barbados are dearly paying the price – in whatever ways – for not only unwisely maintaining and treasuring many antiquated and inefficient agricultural, manufacturing, industrial, technological and skills/knowledge based techniques and competencies, BUT ALSO for foolishly maintaining and glorifying many outdated silly political, legal and institutional structures and processes that compound the above mentioned deficiencies, sectorally and nationally speaking.

    Now, what is the real sense of DLP/BLP Governments over the years allowing many of our agricultural lands to be sold by locals/foreigners to foreigners for purposes of residential/recreational/sporting use, when many people in Barbados – including many state and private sector policy makers – have long recognized that food security is so important to our country’s survival and development? W

  7. David Avatar
    David

    We should not forget the point which ROK has made about the Police not making any arrests of the culprits involved in praedial larceny. We should not forget also that there is no framework to identify people who sell produce with out identifying the source from where the produce came.

    The biggest issue for our society continues to be the surrender of our farmers in the face of the onslaught of theft and the vulnerability of our people to the possibility of health issues because of being exposed to crops which have been sprayed.

  8. BAFBFP Avatar
    BAFBFP

    The scout
    But wha’ you want me say.. after my wife is a born bajan of East Indian extract. Ah can’ speak out against ma own. But if you call me gullible again, jus’ becausen I don’ believe you and you can’ prove wha’ you say, I gun’ &%^$#@@!, and I gun ^&()*)_*$ and when I done wid you I gun $%*^*&^*^*&…

  9. The People's Democratic Congress Avatar
    The People’s Democratic Congress

    Whereas it is important to look at the actual use of NOT so old approaches and methods, like green house farming techniques, aqua-fish farming and automated technologies in agriculture, agro/food processing and manufacturing respectively, to help bring about needed improvements in efficiency, product, marketing and revenue output in those sectors and in Barbados, we will still end up MASSIVELY FOOLING ourselves that agriculture and manufacturing, in particular, and the entire industrial and commercial affairs of this country, in general, can simply be at this stage resuscitated and repositioned to achieve sustainable growth rates and patterns WITHOUT far-reaching, substantial positive political, material and financial changes being brought about in these sectors and in the country.

    On the contrary, by many stakeholders in these two sectors and the Government and particular NGOs continuing to tinker and play with a mixture of old archaic and rehashed policies, methods, and schemes that will only be capable of, at most, helping bring about superficial short term positive changes in these sectors and the country, and at the worst, helping bring about greater decline and stagnation in the agricultural/agro/food-processing and manufacturing sectors and throughout the country, could really mean the engendering of some of the gravest blunders that could ever be seen within the domestic planning and the implementation confines and processes of those particular policies, methods and schemes in Barbados.

    Well, just put those two above-described situations together in the context of the fact that at this present juncture – Barbados is unavoidably entering into the violent throes of a raging so-called economic recession – caused substantially by exogenous factors, and how – with so many thousands of people and interests within these sectors in Barbados dearly paying the price – in whatever ways – for NOT ONLY unwisely maintaining and treasuring many antiquated and inefficient agricultural, manufacturing, industrial, technological and skills/knowledge based techniques and competencies, BUT ALSO for foolishly maintaining and glorifying many outdated silly political, legal and institutional structures and processes that compound the above mentioned deficiencies, sectorally and nationally speaking, there is the greatest liklihood of Barbados – BUT ONLY under joke DLP and BLP Governments – becoming more and more held hostage to sinister evil political economic imperialist global forces bent on ripping the country further apart.

    Now, what is the real sense of DLP/BLP Governments over the years allowing huge swaths of our agricultural lands to be sold by locals/foreigners to foreigners for purposes of residential/recreational/sporting use, when throngs of people in Barbados – including many state and private sector policy makers – have long recognized that food security is so important to our country’s survival and development? What is the real sense of many stake holders within sugar cane agriculture and many within government believing that our sugar cane industry should have by-products that should ONLY be limited to sugar, molasses, bagasse production, etc., and NOT being greatly expanded to include cane fuel production, electricity generation, etc? While the many answers to these two questions are known to many people in Barbados, the fact is that possibilities for greater food security and for greater sugar by-product diversification can ONLY be maximized with fundamental ameliorating PDC Governmental systemic changes like:

    1) the Abolition of Taxation;

    2) the Abolition of Interest Rates;

    3) the Abolition of Motor Vehicle Insurance;

    4) the Abolition of Exchange Rates Parities with the Barbados Dollar;

    5) Making sure that Institutional Loans for Productive Purposes are made Non-Repayable;

    6) Making sure that Imports of Goods and Services into Barbados are Zero-“priced”;

    7) Ensuring that Exports of Goods and Services from Barbados are paid for in local currency/”prices”;

    8) Making sure that NO foreigners – natural or artificial ones – “own” our lands – they will be able ONLY to lease these lands, however, for relatively short times;

    9) Ensuring that any lands – which have been designated as Agricultural Lands for the last 100 yrs or so – that these lands continue to be used for or are restored – if possible – to their maximum agricultural use/potential; and,

    10) Ensuring that there are reasonable limits placed on the maximum amount of acres of land that any one individual or business or entity can possess in Barbados.

    PDC

  10. David Avatar
    David

    The point which should be emphasized is that the expectations of Barbadian farmers and Barbadians are high with Minister Haynesley Benn and James Paul occupying insider government positions.

    We will not accept nothing less than A+ from these two men who are very knowledgeable about agriculture. Rumours that the two may not be singing from the same song sheet is unacceptable.

  11. The scout Avatar
    The scout

    BAFBFP
    Since you challenging me to call you so again, I will. I’m in a militant mood. You like all the rest like you are gullible.I hope that satisfies.

  12. BAFBFP Avatar
    BAFBFP

    The scout

    Barbados’ got too many useless Black people; time for some culling starting with you. Adolf, Adolf, my Fuehrer Barbados needs you…

  13. wondering Avatar
    wondering

    The thing that i find odd is the fact that after this man’s loss ,which is truly devastating, the PM would publicly comment about it and in a somewhat negative manner making the man look foolish.

  14. Question? Avatar
    Question?

    Does anyone actually read comments by PDC? I would be truly shocked and bewildered if they do. THEY ARE SIMPLY TOO LONG AND FROTHY TO WASTE TIME ON!.
    Why not try being more concise?

  15. Bush tea Avatar
    Bush tea

    Question?
    …read? ..PDC? ?!!

    I thought that meant Page Down to next Comment…

  16. David Avatar
    David

    In light of the economic slowdown which has finally been confirmed by the Governor of the Central Bank and with projections for unemployment expected to push up to close to 10%, now would be a good time to hear the government’s plan for using the excess labour in the agricultural sector. We agree that Guyanese labour has served us well in this sector and we are not talking about illegals, with the slow down this is a population Barbados will have to smart in managing.

  17. The Scout Avatar
    The Scout

    David
    Again , we got beaten to the punch. guyanese agricultural workers are not looking to work for a bajan any,more. They are now demanding that you lease them the land and in some cases for as little as $ 500.00 per acre. i think we need to tell those who want to rape this country “bye Bye’” thanks. Bajans have got to move up to the plate or starve.If we go the guyanese way, they would be holding all the “aces.”

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