Stimulation coming
THE answer to getting this island’s beleaguered economy back on track can come from a stimulated agriculture and fisheries sector.
This was the opinion of Minister of Labour, Dr. Esther Byer-Suckoo, as she made remarks at a Stakeholder Consultation for the Skills Needs Assessment for Agriculture and Fisheries sectors at the Savannah Hotel earlier this week.
“Agriculture has been identified as another key sector … in our Sustainable Recovery Plan. This sector is not only critical to ensuring that Barbados achieves an adequate level of food security, but it is also a potential growth sector, if optimum competitiveness is achieved through the production of high quality agricultural produce, increased innovation and enhanced value-added activity,” she outlined.
She therefore insisted that an enabling environment was being created, “characterised by the supply of the right mix of human capital that has relevant skills and competencies that would increase the productivity and competitiveness of agricultural enterprises”.
“It would also require an environment that continually promotes and nurtures the youth’s involvement in farming, fishing and agro-processing as a means of sustaining the growth of the sector,” Byer-Suckoo stressed.
Pointing out that 76 persons between the ages of 16 and 35 so far had been trained within the Education, Labour and Agriculture Ministries’ Youth Agri-preneurship Programme and 15 businesses established, she noted that youth were now seeing agriculture as a viable source of wealth and professional development.
Byer-Suckoo further stated that a knowledge management system, which included market information along with a buyers and sellers’ forum to provide a virtual marketplace for agriculture and fisheries with up-to-date prices, was being created; noting this will influence the dynamics of the sector.
Admitting that there was limited information on labour market needs and skills deficits, she asserted that the skills needs assessment would be utilised in the promotion of a demand-driven education and training system. (JMB)