Minister of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Family Island Affairs the Hon. Clay Sweeting made several visits recently, to examine the state of affairs and meet the staff at a number of the agencies that make up his portfolio.

The minister, who was accompanied by executives including Parliamentary Secretary in the ministry, the Hon. Leonardo Lightbourne and Permanent Secretary Joel Lewis, toured the Department of Marine Resources followed by the Gladstone Road Agricultural Complex (GRAC). GRAC is made up of the National Swine Breeding Centre, the Layer Egg program, the small Ruminants Centre, the Food Safety & Technology Lab, the Feed Mill and the Test Field organized by the Caribbean Agricultural Research & Development Institute (CARDI).

The minister also visited the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC) to conclude the first round of touring.

At the various locations, Minister Sweeting took the time to meet with employees who shared their concerns and suggestions for how their respective units could be improved to assist with the government’s agenda for agriculture and marine resources.

Minister Sweeting, who has a farming and fisheries background, paid special notice of the potential at GRAC saying, “We have an obligation to align the operations of this place with the overall plan to assist, motivate and demonstrate for farmers the best techniques and best practices for successful agriculture. GRAC has to be a catalyst for growth in farming and I am pleased that the staff there share this view. It’s now time to put those words into action together so that we can truly be able to feed ourselves.”

During his visit at the CARDI fields, Minister Sweeting was able to pick from a variety of cassavas and sweet potatoes grown on the farm, and expressed his pleasure about the experiments being conducted to find better varieties of dietary staples that can be grown quickly and are highly resistant to natural disasters like hurricanes.

Country manager for CARDI Dr. Michelle Singh expressed her appreciation for Minister Sweeting’s interest in the activities on the farm and extended CARDI’s full support to his efforts. CARDI is CARICOM’s agricultural arm in the region.

More tours are planned for the upcoming weeks with stops to the BAMSI, BAHFSA, the Department of Agriculture’s Head Office, the Animal Control Unit, the Department of Family Island Affairs (Local Government), BAMSI’s North Andros farm and institute and the Grand Bahama offices of the Departments of Marine Resources and Agriculture. 

Media Contact: Kendea Smith

Kendea Smith@bahamas.gov.bs