Some of the major players in the agriculture supply chain have promised to keep prices down while a new project is in the works to encourage Barbadians to grow more produce, as Government seeks to ease residents’ food bills.
Prime Minister Mia Mottley who made those disclosures during her address to the nation on Thursday evening, also assured that her Government will continue to monitor prices on a regular basis.
She said animal feed is among key agricultural inputs that manufacturers have agreed to keep at a reasonable price.
“We have had the assurance from Pinnacle Feeds that they will not carry up the price of their products for the next six months unless global circumstances beyond their control warrant it,” the Prime Minister said.
“For example, the price of corn, one of their key inputs, has come down in the international market recently, but we will not see the effects of that until two months from now. Barbados Mills has also agreed to keep its prices down for the next six months and the Ministry of Commerce has renewed its commitment to monitor and publish prices and make them available to the public as well as Cabinet every two weeks.”
In noting that vegetables were not included in the list of items to see reduced prices, the Prime Minister promised that was a work in progress.
“The Ministry of Agriculture is currently working with local producers and importers, as well as its counterparts in Guyana and Suriname, to bring these prices down, including in the markets where the prices are generally the lowest,” she reported.
Mottley also spoke of measures to get more people involved in the agricultural sector, including through a new venture Cabinet has just approved, Project Community Agriculture Response and Empowerment (PROJECT CARE).
“It is aimed at getting people within our communities to come together and plant their own food. The Barbados Agricultural Management Company (BAMC) and the Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (BADMC) will be on board in terms of clearing the land and cultivation, and they will also be providing tool kits in the form of hoes, forks, shovels, seedlings, planting material, spray cans and garden hoses,” she disclosed.
“Private sector companies have expressed an interest in getting involved, and Gale’s Hatcheries has agreed to provide chicks. We are also looking at rabbit rearing, and the Guyanese Government will assist us in bringing the Brazilian black hen to these shores. Beyond that, we will also be making a series of videos showing how to go about cultivating crops and rearing livestock.”
Meantime, regarding complaints about the increasing cost of fish, Mottley said the Government had purchased fish aggregating devices that would attract fish closer to Barbados’ shores so fishermen did not have to go as far out into the ocean and could therefore save fuel.
“We have also been encouraging people not to catch smaller, immature fish, particularly young dolphin, so that they can grow to full maturity,” the Prime Minister added.
