resilience key

While there was no widespread damage to the agricultural sector during the passage of Hurricane Elsa, there is still need to build greater resilience into the sector.

So says Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Indar Weir, who admitted that a number of challenges confront the sector, which he said would likely manifest themselves as we start to see more climatic events during this and future hurricane seasons.

His comments came in an interview with The Barbados Advocate as he said that there was some damage to livestock and poultry farms, which experienced damage to roofs of pens, but he said crops were largely spared.

“The good thing about Elsa is that Elsa came but she didn’t bring the kind of rainfall that we associate with such events. So for example, many of the areas that we know are prone to flooding didn’t flood, and that is one of the reasons why we didn’t lose a lot of our crops. For us to become more resilient, I think we need now to move to incorporating more greenhouses in the sector and certainly more hydroponic farming,” he stated, as he put the case for greater use of the new and emerging techniques in agriculture locally.

Minister Weir added, “We must put ourselves in a position where these facilities can withstand as high as a category three or category four system. If you see the damage that Elsa did as a category one to many of the houses in Barbados, you know what you’ll be up against with a category three or four. So we have to build resilience now.”

He said it is unfortunate that such steps were not taken before, explaining that it cannot be achieved overnight and will take considerable time and resources to make it a reality. He made the point as he said the Ministry is intent on ensuring that there is a “right balance” with old and new agricultural techniques to ensure the continued development of the sector.

“We have to get to a stage where we have a good mix with open field agriculture and technology in agriculture to be able to manage our food security, as we recognise that climate change now is bringing climatic events that are either very sudden, or they’re coming at unusual times in the hurricane season, like Elsa. If you had an Elsa at the beginning, you don’t know what to expect going through the rest of the season. So while I regret that a lot of these things weren’t done before, in the three going four years that I’ve been there, the necessary changes have started to take place,” he insisted.

Minister Weir’s remarks came as he noted it was his hope to see more greenhouse projects up and running by now, but acknowledges that the COVID-19 pandemic created some delays.

“Also, the pace at which things are done is something we have to take into consideration, but there are few in operation and they’re quite successful. There’s a greenhouse project that we currently have which as I mentioned was damaged by Elsa, perhaps it is one of the best kept stories and there is also Redland, from which you can get a wider variety of lettuces. So yes we have some, but we need more. Those to come include a major greenhouse project that I’ve been really waiting patiently to see get going, and there’s another one that I’ve heard of the plans to use about 40 acres of land to do some major greenhouses as well,” he insisted.

He said another reason why more of these technologies have not been introduced in the sector is because even though there is interest, many people are risk averse. The minister maintained that the agricultural sector must be more accessible. In that vein, he said the Agriculture Development Fund can do a lot more, so that people who have projects can get the support they need.

“The fact is, borrowing the bank or credit union’s money may not necessarily cut it for these agricultural projects, especially at start-up,” he said, while contending that where financial support is made available, persons must be willing to pay back so that others can also benefit.

(JRT)