It is often bandied about the ministry of agriculture (MOA) has more employees with PhDs than most places. However, if you try to plot a correlation between national agriculture output and number of post grad certifications in the MOA, there is a negligible positive. The late prime minister Owen Arthur warned Barbadians of storm clouds on the horizon and that
Read more
There is a popular saying “God helps those who help themselves“. The pandemic has been with us almost 2 years, we know any pandemic is likely to disrupt the global supply chain. We know Barbados is a significant importer of food, over the years successive governments have paid lip service to prioritizing food security. It is cheaper to import than
Read more
Projects similar to this (see article attached) could be implemented on some of the acres of waste government lands scattered all over the country. If government is really serious about food security it would allow people (properly organised) to utilize non productive land for the purpose of growing food. Bentley – BU Contributor The pandemic provides the opportunity for households
Read more
The blogmaster followed with interest the passing of Bills yesterday in the Lower House of the National Payment System Bill 2021 and the Barbados Identity Management Bill 2021. The government appears to be moving to take advantage of technology to enhance and transform how Barbadians do business in a new ecosystem, pay for goods, services. Gone are the days when
Read more
Selfish, unpatriotic, heartless, self serving are but a few choice adjectives that could be attributed to companies within Barbados who would import pumpkin amidst a glut in Barbados. Some of these said companies are the same ones who often suck on the nipples of taxpayers via government for economic relief and concessions. Where is your sense of corporate social responsibility?
Read more
The Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados Cleviston Haynes will deliver the quarterly review of Barbados’ economy, next Wednesday, October 28 at 11:00 AM. In recent years Barbadians have become numb to the performance of the economy as we battle with a high debt to GDP, high unemployment, low national productivity to name three key performance indicators. The pandemic
Read more
Submitted by Heather Cole Heather Cole is asking for the public’s support to ensure the success of a food security project at the Todds Plantation. Dear Prospective Investors and Members, Although the conception of the People’s Agricultural and Business Co-op was done prior to COVID-19, we did not anticipate that our fears would have been realized months
Read more
Submitted by the Mahogany Coconut Group The fears of many progressives that Caribbean leaders will not embrace a new economic path post COVID -19, are slowly surfacing. While we support the current efforts in the fight against COVID-19, we must admit that as the region returns to state of normalcy or what is being branded the “new norm”, there
Read more
Submitted by Mahogany Coconut Group Many regional commentators are of the firm opinion, that the post COVID-19 economies, will have to consider putting the Agriculture industry, at the forefront of economic planning. While we certainly do not want to engage in pessimism, we suspect that some who share this view, may be quite optimistic and are avoiding historical truths. The
Read more
The following blog reflects concern about food security in a Trinidad and Tobago context, however, the message rings true for the majority of countries in the region including Barbados. It raises the perennial concern that Caricom has not been able to implement solutions to address concerns about the need for food security for its member. Thanks to Tee White sharing
Read more
Covid-19 (Coronavirus) was classified by the World Health Organization this week as a pandemic. The aggressive infection rate has forced unprecedented decisions, Italy is on ‘lock down’, President Trump has issued a travel ban on traffic originating in Europe… cancellations of major sporting events. Although Barbados has not reported its first case up to the time of updating the
Read more
BU research supports that Agrofest started in 2005. It means by any reasonable expectation the objectives of the event should be starting to bear fruit. What are the objectives? To demonstrate the symbiotic relationship between agriculture and the community. To highlight the impact of agriculture on other economic sectors. To cater to the wide and divergent interests of the Barbadian
Read more
One of the noticeable marks Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley has been making early in her tenure is on the regional front. By contrast former Prime Minister Freundel Stuart was silent and usurped the leadership role Barbados has played historically in the region. Prime Minister Mia Mottley at the 2019 Caribbean Forum on Regional Transformation for Inclusive and Sustainable
Read more
This is a documentary relating to a letter I sent to you some time ago on agriculture. The way we farm nowadays does not in any way allow for proper land management, water harvesting or soil regeneration. Instead it increases run off, soil erosion and soil nutrient loss. The majority of Barbadians need to be more aware about the environment,
Read more
For those who love to read here is a book IN DEFENSE OF FOOD – Thank you Bentley. Here is another topic Barbadians delight in giving lip service. We have reached a point where we do not intend to attack the serious issue of food security. Equally important is that we do not use our intelligence and formal education to understand
Read more
Dr. Robert Lucas gave an insight about what has led to the unflattering development of Bajan Cherry. Food for thought – David, blogmaster I would like to explain some facts. Firstly I just came across this post from a couple of days ago. I was the agronomist at Soil Conservation who was responsible for the propagation of the Barbados Cherry
Read more
The Editor You may be interested in posting the attached article on food fraud which I did in 2000. The topic is topical as Ms. Ena Harvey talked about the topic in today’s paper [8 August 2019]. The scan is from the original newspaper cuttings and gives a run down on the history of food fraud. Food fraud is widespread.
Read more
The Editor Barbados Underground Barbados,W.I Dear Sir/Madam, There was an article in Barbados Today of 16th.February 2019 entitled “Dumped.” In the article Mr. James Paul bemoans the fact that the two largest sponsors have jumped ship. In 1971 as a final year student in agriculture at the University of the West indies, St. Augustine Campus;Tom Henderson, Professor of Agricultural Extension
Read more
Barbados Underground 