Industry needs national push to secure future – BAS CEO

The time is right for another nationwide campaign to follow up one launched two decades ago to boost domestic pork consumption, the chief executive of the Barbados Agricultural Society, James Paul, has suggested, warning that the industry’s survival depends on sustained demand despite recent investments by small farmers.

His call came in response to concerns raised by Carlton and A-One Supermarkets’ managing director, Andrew Bynoe, who warned during a recent meeting that the pork industry could “shrivel up” within five years without decisive action.

Bynoe was the mastermind behind the “Proper Pork” ad campaign in the early 2000s. A 2007 study conducted by Paul said the campaign led to pork’s revival, with rising sales and production.

According to the BAS CEO, government incentives, including financing for small-scale farmers, have injected much-needed investment, resulting in a notable increase in pig production.

“Because of the type of incentives the government has put in place, in respect of providing financing for small-scale farmers, we have seen an increase in the amount of pigs being produced by small farmers,” he said. “I am sure that right now between last year and this year, we’ve seen over a million dollars in value of investment being put in by small farmers in terms of the pig industry, and that investment is now usually in results.”

He stressed that consistent demand is crucial for sustaining this growth. Historically, the island produced over 50 000 pigs annually, but current figures indicate only 25 000 are being slaughtered each year—well below the industry’s potential.

“What is required at this point in time is to ensure that the market for the pigs is available to the farmers,” he said. “Historically, we are way below what we would normally produce in this country. We used to slaughter over 50 000 animals a year in this country, and I think really that the fact that we are just around two, maybe 25 000 animals a month, says that we are not near the optimum [place] where we can take it.”

Paul praised Bynoe for the “Proper Pork” campaign to spur interest among citizens and businesses in buying local pork produce but said there is a need for a similar campaign at present.

He acknowledged that some businesses already support the local pork industry but stressed the importance of a unified approach to ensure all establishments offer Barbadian pork as the first option.

“We need to have a system through which locally produced pork can be sold to these establishments wherever they are located. In other words, we should have a national campaign where we promote our local food as the first option in terms of buyers out there for food,” he said.

Paul added: “It’s sad to say that there are some businesses as far as I’m concerned in this country which do not buy into the model or buy into the model in a very limited way. There’s some businesses that do, so we have to give encouragement and praise to them. I know for instance people will say that we have to look at the importers in terms of the price that they might offer the local establishments, but at the end of the day it makes no sense encouraging business models in this country that don’t help the country solve its critical problems in terms of foreign exchange earnings [and] foreign exchange savings.”

shamarblunt@barbadostoday.bb