EDITORIAL

Given Barbados’ extremely high food import bill, it behooves us to do all we can to grow more local food, so we can buy and eat local.

 

There has been much talk of “buying local” over the years, but oftentimes, Barbadian consumers complain that the quality of the local food is not always on par with that sourced internationally. However, greater effort is being made to produce local foods that can meet consumer needs and are in keeping with international food standards.

 

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and Water Resource Management Esworth Reid, has been one advocating for Barbadians to eat more local produce. He has even taken it a step further, by noting that it is his hope that by the end of 2016, every home in Barbados should feature some kind of food garden, as an indication that Barbadians are taking agriculture seriously and are desirous of eating more locally grown nutritious foods.

 

Local dietitians and some officials in the health sector have made it clear that some Barbadians are eating too many of the wrong foods, in very large quantities and this negative activity is contributing to the rise in chronic non-communicable diseases (CNCDs). Truth be told, Barbadians should be opting for local foods such as breadfruit, cassava, sweet potato and green bananas, over imported, heavily processed foods. They can consume these local foods to cut down on the chronic non-communicable diseases (CNCDs), since our fore parents ate these foods consistently and it seems to have done their bodies good. While a recent news report suggested that Barbadians are opting to purchase more local sweet potatoes for example, we need to see a greater push for Bajans to purchase local foods that we can easily grow here, as opposed to opting for the imported versions.

 

That said, the Ministry of Agriculture can pat itself on the back for its efforts of experimenting with various crops, that can be grown locally for consumption. It was noted recently in the press that following the release of the Ministry of Agriculture’s findings from its experimental plum tomato trials, a number of local farmers now stand to be benefit from the introduction of a new tomato variety, that also meets the consumption approval of Barbadians.

 

Evangeline Ragoonath-Devonish, researcher in the Central Agronomic Research Station of the Ministry of Agriculture, recently released preliminary data for three Dutch (plum) tomato varieties (Tointer, Tocayo and Toliman) taken from performance trials conducted at Graeme Hall in Christ Church and a farm in St. George, during the period February to November last year.

 

She noted that the aim of the trials was to select a tomato variety that would be cost efficient, endure our environmental conditions and one that would also meet the market acceptance criteria of consumers, agro-processors and by extension the hotel sector. Customers had a preference for the Tocayo variety, due to its firmness, size, fleshiness and taste and it appears the Ministry will be pushing this one for local consumption.

 

We have also received word that the Ministry of Agriculture will be working to develop industries around primary crops such as cassava, breadfruit, coconuts as well. Given the concerns expressed by a number of officials about the country’s level of food security, I think we are headed in the right direction. Though there is still much work to be done to get more Barbadians to buy local, we are seeing some progress, across the landscape, to date.