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Examining Indar Weir’s 10% Growth Claim

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In recent days Minister Indar Weir was featured in the traditional media hyping a 10% growth in 2025 year to date. Let us give him his flowers and compliment him for growth because if there wasn’t we would be roasting him. However if we drill down to what that 10% means, the fact that agriculture represent less that 3% of the Gross National Product (GDP).

It is ironic the man leading our thrust to achieve food security and sovereignty has a firm interest in the tourism sector. Up to this day Indar Weir Travel Centre is a popular travel agency in Barbados. Let the record reflect that the blogmaster did not state that Weir performs two jobs. Our ministers over the years have been ‘notorious’ for exhibiting a level of integrity where devotion to the job has been the priority.

IF the government was serious about increasing agriculture output in Barbados, there would be a concerted effort to change mindsets and encourage Barbadians to plant fruit trees on the curtilage. The government would instruct the National Conservation Commission (NCC) to plant fruit tree along the highways, schools would be directed to plant fruit trees and other food drops on the premises, our prisoners would be part of an aggressive farm labour program and so on.

We have never been serious about increasing agriculture output in Barbados, we do enough to appease the thought that a country must be seen to be trying to feed its people. It is an open secret that the prevailing thought by our decision makers led by local economists like Clyde Mascoll et al is that our cost of production to produce food is high therefore to import is the preferred option. Our long term commitment is to tourism and international business, we will import food. The Covid 19 pandemic thought us nothing.

Despite our lip service to truly committing to feeding ourselves, here are a couple tips for Minister Indar Weir and the bevy of over qualifies agriculture actors paid by taxpayers in the ministry of finance.

The first is the ‘gift of nature’ the BREADFRUIT:

and the ‘Bambara Groundnut‘:

Minister Indar Weir with a general election looming expect this type of interrogation from the BU intelligentsia because we do not subscribe to the BS. You are comfortable because tourism is booming.

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16 responses to “Examining Indar Weir’s 10% Growth Claim”

  1. Skeptic Avatar
    Skeptic

    @david 10% growth in new farmers or 10% growth in production. Did 10% growth occur in local crops for retail with the drought and deluge. Figures can be optical and logical deception use for positive or negative outcomes.

  2. David Avatar
    David

    We need Barbadians to step up and deliver based on the huge investment in education. Where are our intellectuals, academics, trained journalists, sensible social commentators and others?

  3. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ David
    Boss, do you REALLY think that our challenges relate to lack of education, skills, ability, competence or even intent?
    If you honestly do, please say what leads you to that conclusion.

    How is it that the SAME Bajans at home can work so outstandingly for FOREIGN business owners in banking, retail, insurance, and almost EVERY area of activity…
    How is it that Bajans who emigrate, so often go on to perform so outstandingly in so many areas?

    The COMMON denominator has been our local governance and leadership.
    Where there is no vision, the people will ALWAYS perish.

  4. David Avatar
    David

    @Bush Tea

    There is a saying that culture eats strategy for breakfast everyday day of the week. Therefore the question you have to ask is – what is preventing our educated people at home from driving the favorable environment you have alluded in away lands?

  5. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    Bushie

    Has always been a nativist. That mindset prevents the cross fertilization of narratives demanded.

    The other side of the argument, about Bajans doing so much better elsewhere, has never been scientifically established, and though there are many instances of anecdotal cases, we therefore have no hard evidence that this has ever been true.

    Others may argue that those overseas successful Bajans might to operating in circumstances where standards are lower, resources are relatively higher and therefore a direct basis for comparison may not exist.

    Or that such narratives cherry pick unicorns while ignoring the overwhelming numbers of abject failures.

  6. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    Dems tooooo big belly people in red are not unrepresentative of the state of heath of economy.

    In alternative medicine a teaching is that all illnesses start and finish in the gut.

  7. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ Pacha
    Bushie will EVER be a nativist. It is a NATURAL disposition.

    -Love God (aspire to perfection)
    -Love yuhself (Respect and protect the physical temple in which you exist)
    -Love yuh family (a natural extension of yuhself)
    THEN…
    -Love yuh neighbors, country, region and world.

    Don’t fret over the SOURCE of this basic principle.

    You and your bogus ‘globalist’ perspective has the potential to make you indistinguishable between fish and fowl…
    No wonder you can only see the mushroom solution…
    LOL

    @ David
    “…what is preventing our educated people at home from driving the favorable environment you have alluded in away lands?”
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    A SPIRITUAL CURSE in our donkey!

    …As a result of turning our BB backs on our Creator, AND on our natural community-centric disposition.
    In favor of the albino-centric shiite that we have come to admire in those who tormented our ancestors for CENTURIES… chasing after shiite money…

    We CHOSE to shoot ourselves in the donkey.

  8. Terence Blackett Avatar
    Terence Blackett

    DID THE BLOGMASTER CHOSE 2 USE THE (inset) PIC OF 2 SISTAZ BOTH [8] & HALF MONTHS PREGNANT???

    #WondersNeverCease

  9. Observing Avatar
    Observing

    It is clearly the silly season.

    In 2019 Agriculture output was 264 million.
    In 2020 it was 307 million.
    By 2023 it dropped to 196 million.

    Weir’s boast of increasing by 10% as at September 2025 is a joke considering that the sector fell precipitously under him and sugar of all things is in disarray.

    While we are at it, transparency should tell us if any of the government’s frequent travels is facilitated by any travel agency associated with any Minister or Member of Parliament.

    Uh gone.

    Just observing

  10. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    Some may find this interesting.

    https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/extreme-cold-chicken-farming-yukon-9.7031721

  11. David Avatar
    David

    Thanks for the numbers @observing. It goes back to the point raised earlier, we prefer to let party allegiance trump intelligence. Our system of government is not and will never be perfect BUT for it to operate at maximum people engagement must be high. Instead what do we have: a high level apathy, cynicism combined with a lack of civics.

  12. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    Bushie

    You have now justified and embraced nativism. That social construction has been developed by the very albino-centrics you otherwise condemn. However, these kinds of philosophical contradictions are replete in the key words in your above response.

    Those who are at the front in supporting nativism were transported to where they now live very recently or claim other places where others had inhabited long before their kind appeared, as what you have often called albinos.

    On the other hand, this writer never claimed to be a globalist. Certainly, having an interest in global affairs cannot make anyone a globalist, could it? Globalization, globalism, is a structure which was aimed at serving corporate elites. In doing so it forced countries to adhere to the rules of the WTO, for example, and it structured countries in ways acceptable to corporations.

    This may have had some benefits, but Pacha never can be made to believe that ‘corporations should rule the world”, a well argued book by David Korten, written maybe thirty years ago.

    Your brand of nativism is the reverse but just as deleterious. Indeed, it has no chances of success in a “small, open economy”.

  13. David Avatar
    David

    “BADMC, private farms hit over festive season
    By Sheria Brathwaite
    Police and agricultural authorities are investigating one of the largest recorded cases of crop theft after thieves made off with some 13 tonnes of yams from state-managed and private farmland, prompting urgent calls for tighter enforcement against praedial larceny.
    The theft, spanning the festive season and the start of the New Year, prompted a stern warning to both consumers and vendors from Minister of Agriculture Indar Weir, who cautioned that stolen produce of this scale would inevitably reach the market if the crime is not confronted and curtailed.
    The losses include approximately 10 000 pounds of yams taken from land managed by the state-owned Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (BADMC), and a further 20 000 pounds removed from private farms in St Philip and St John. The financial impact runs into several thousand dollars and has raised serious concerns about farmer confidence at a time when government is encouraging increased domestic food production. Currently, yams are being retailed for as low as $5 per pound and as much as $7 per pound. Domestic yams are not in abundance.
    Describing the situation as deeply troubling, Weir said the crimes extended beyond the fields and into public spaces, where stolen produce was openly bought and sold.
    “I think it is regrettable that you have people out there waiting for farmers to plant crops and then decide that they’re harvesting them to make the money from it,” he said. “It is extremely criminal behaviour, but what is even worse about it is that these people are selling the same produce in the marketplaces and our consumers are buying them.”
    The minister stressed that government action alone would be insufficient to stem praedial larceny, insisting that consumers must also play an active role in enforcement by demanding proof of purchase.
    He said: “I have already stated in very clear language that if we are going to help farmers, it can’t be just government making the effort.
    The consumers also have to get involved and demand that the vendors show a legitimate receipt with the ministry’s stamp or the ministry’s logo to show that they’re purchased from a farmer, and if they’re purchased from a third party, that third party should also have the same proof of purchase.”
    He warned that failure to enforce existing legislation effectively encourages thieves.
    “If we continue to allow people to steal and just look to blame the government or authorities, and do not participate as well in demanding that an official receipt is shown because that’s what the law allows for, the thieves will feel as though they’re getting support,” he added.
    The legal framework already provides clear measures against agricultural theft, the farm minister stressed. “People who are purchasing from a farm must get a legitimate receipt with the ministry’s information on it, and if you are a vendor, you must show where you purchased that produce from, otherwise it can be confiscated and penalties can be imposed.”
    Weir reiterated the scale of the losses, warning that stolen yams would not simply disappear. “Yes, they stole 10 000 pounds fromthe BADMC farmland, and I am told that an additional 20 000 pounds were stolen from private farmland as well. That’s a lot of yams, and clearly it will reach the market,” he said, urging Barbadians to remain vigilant. “People driving around with a vehicle and selling from the back, show that you own it, show where you purchased it, or where you planted it.”
    Calling on the public to take a firm stance, Weir urged consumers to refuse to buy produce without proper documentation and to alert law enforcement where necessary.
    “If you can’t show a receipt, then nobody should purchase it or report it to the police,” he said, noting that many vendors are currently operating without proof of origin. “There are several people right now who are selling all types of things, all kinds of agricultural produce, and none of them have legitimate receipts to show where they got it from.”
    The minister expressed deep disappointment at the impact of the thefts on farmers.
    “This is hard work and investment from these farmers, and I am acutely aware of what we had to do at the BADMC to plant the large acres of yam that we planted,” he said. “But really, what disturbs me more than anything else is these people being able to sell that stolen produce.”
    “This whole thing comes down to Barbadians wanting to see the end of praedial larceny, because the law is there. It comes down to enforcement. If people are going to tolerate people stealing crops and driving around in vehicles or standing up at a corner and selling it, and don’t help us to enforce the law by asking people to show how they’re obtaining that produce, then we’re never going to get rid of it.”
    Peter Alleyne, head of the Barbados Agricultural Society’s crop division, said he had received a complaint from a veteran farmer who wished to remain anonymous. Alleyne warned that ongoing theft could force out producers and jeopardise national food security.
    “The leading root crop farmer in Barbados is being attacked very fiercely through acts of larceny,” he said, appealing for urgent intervention by authorities. “I am appealing to the authorities, the Government and the police.
    I know the police are very busy, but at the same time we are calling for food security to be protected.”
    He added that the farmer was making every effort to maintain operations, but that the losses were unsustainable. “Something needs to be done. The root crop farmer is trying to succeed and keep his business open, but if this continues, one day he will say that this is the end.”
    Alleyne cautioned that farm closures would have wider social consequences. “That would mean more people will be on the breadline.
    The prime minister has said unemployment has gone down tremendously and should continue to fall, but if farmers start to close? Farmers are not happy about losing crops, losing animals and losing everything because of negligence by the authorities.”
    Alleyne also questioned whether current policing arrangements are adequate to address praedial larceny in rural districts.
    “We need to start doing something about this. Where is the protection that the police are supposed to be providing? I understand that one unit is covering districts such as St Philip andSt John, with about five forested areas under that one unit. How can that work effectively? If officers leave St Philip and go to St John, those committing these acts can return to St Philip,” he said.
    He emphasised the need for a long-term approach, warning that continued losses threatened food security targets under the government’s 25-by-30 initiative. Alleyne added that farmers were deeply unhappy with the start to the year.
    Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society, James Paul, noted that the thefts were occurring against the backdrop of reduced yam output and growing pressure on farmers to expand production.
    “Let us understand where we are. Last year, we did not do very well in the production of yams. In fact, the crop was not as large as it should have been,” he said.
    While some farmers had increased acreage, their ability to protect those fields had not kept pace, despite employing security personnel, he said.
    Continued losses would discourage planting and undermine efforts to expand domestic root crop production, with consequences for both health and the economy, Paul warned.
    The thefts were calculated, he said, with perpetrators monitoring farm routines and exploiting security gaps, making it difficult for farmers to address the problem alone. Forcing farmers to absorb high security costs would increase production expenses, drive up food prices, and ultimately weaken national food security, he added. sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb”

  14. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    Important event.

  15. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    Mama Mia!

  16. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    Good idea.

    https://barbadostoday.bb/2026/03/01/new-poultry-system-unveiled-at-agrofest/

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