Weir defends govt’s approach amid concern about land use shift

Minister of Agriculture Indar Weir on Monday strongly defended the government’s approach to managing arable land, emphasising that discussions around farming should shift towards increasing the use of modern technologies to enhance productivity, rather than solely concentrating on the amount of land available.

Speaking on the Down to Brass Tacks on Monday, Weir addressed public concerns about arable land being repurposed for commercial or residential developments, especially following controversy over a proposed major development at Newton plantation. He gave an assurance that the government is firmly committed to preserving land dedicated to productive agriculture.

He said: “The Ministry of Agriculture has a responsibility to retain agricultural land; we do not willy-nilly approve agricultural land for subdivision. People who own land in this country own their property, and unless the government moves to suggest that people who own land in Barbados [should have it taken] from them or [be told] what to do with it, they have a right to apply for subdivision if they desire.

“But that does not bind or force the ministry to agree. Because somebody puts up a sign saying that they are doing a subdivision which is apparently a requirement under the Planning Act, it does not mean that the ministry is going to agree to that either.”

The agriculture minister, who noted that there are currently 28 000 acres of arable land in Barbados, said there were many “moving parts” that contribute to agricultural production on the island, and suggested the focus needed to change from being solely about land availability.

That figure is 17 000 acres less than the 45 000 acres the Ministry of Agriculture had earmarked for farming in 1992. Then, agriculture figures were concerned that more land was lost to development in the 26 years since independence than in the previous 339 years since settlement.

Weir said: “The question is what do we do with those lands, what do we tell the owners? That because it used to be in agriculture, and you now have another purpose for it, we are going to disagree with you, to let it continue to grow to become a habitat for the same monkeys that you dislike? We have to be brutally frank in this country.”

He continued: “We are living in the 21st century where many agrifood systems have been created and proven. Are we going to move Barbados to that level? Are we going to have a conversation about the [number] of old buildings that are sturdy enough to withstand the hurricanes that we are having, but they are not useful for anything?… Can we then join the conversation on how we can look at the retrofitting of those buildings to provide agricultural produce that we are arguing for?”

Weir also pushed back on comments made by Barbados Agricultural Society CEO James Paul, who said using Guyana to significantly increase Barbados’ crop production was not a viable option.

“The Right Excellent Errol Walton Barrow has on record stating that if we can leverage our relationship with Guyana, [it] would be the ideal place to anchor that, so that rather than importing food from all types of external sources outside of CARICOM, we can work with a CARICOM partner and establish the type of production scale that we need. So that CARICOM can be satisfied, and then Barbados will benefit from it,” he noted.

Meanwhile, Minister Weir also sought to respond to concerns raised by Paul and others in the public sphere about the shortage and small size of chickens being seen on the market.

He said that there were numerous factors affecting the shortage and size of the birds and that it was not a case where you could pinpoint a feed supplier or a particular farm to blame. Weir said a thorough investigation into the matter would have to be conducted but added that farm management played a major role.

“This is no guarantee that you won’t get a repeat of birds coming out small because these are all biological systems that you are dealing with,” he said. “They will respond based on the conditions of the environment, they will respond based on the management of the farm, and therefore the only thing you can do is put best practices in place to say that these are the standards we should meet in terms of feed storage, these are the standards we should be in terms of quantities, in terms of water supply, [etc.]. Truth be told, if you employ people on a farm and you are not managing them well, you can get mistakes.”

He cautioned that Paul and others must get their facts right and come up with relevant data surrounding factors affecting production before public comments are made.