"More and more persons are expressing an interest in moving in that direction because they recognise the benefits of making use of new technologies if they want to continue to compete and to make a decent living," Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Erskine Griffith, said yesterday.
Several farmers are already running greenhouses and more are planning to put acres of land under greenhouses, he said during an impromptu news conference at Island Inn Hotel.
"The idea is to use some type of technology that will enable you to improve your productivity, keep control of your cost, and be able to produce . . . crops that will not do so well in the open but will do better in some type of covered area," he explained.
"And those are the ways that we have to go in order to improve the competitiveness of the industry."
He listed among the benefits of using greenhouses and the relevant technology: the ability to maximise water and fertiliser usage; to control temperatures; and to reduce exposure to traditional crop pests, including birds.
Recalling a case he had seen, Griffith said: "The computer comes on at a time of the day when it is determined that the plant needs to be fed. And it gives it the amount of water and fertiliser and shuts down.
"So you don't have any wastage of water, as you are tempted to have out in the open with different systems."
He added: "It is when you take all of those (factors) into account that you realise that your costs are significantly lower while your production is up in the air, so you can sell those things at a reasonable price and still be profitable."
Government is hoping to accelerate the greenhouse programme.
It has set up two greenhouses at the Ministry of Agricult ure in Graeme Hall, Christ Church, with a view to demonstrating the benefits of the technology to farmers and prospective farmers.
An ambitious scheme utilising at least ten acres for greenhouses is planned for the Home Agricultural Station in St Philip.
"We will put in all the technology and then lease the facilities to the youngsters," Griffith reported.
It was a myth that youths were not interested in the sector, he argued. While not keen on the traditional "hoe and fork" agriculture, "they are interested in agriculture that is using the technology".
Speaking to the growing popularity of greenhouses, Griffith said one St Thomas farmer was putting two acres of crops under greenhouses, while a Christ Church farmer was preparing to set up two Venezuela-made greenhouses.
While Barbadians may be conservative in outlook, "the good thing about (greenhouse farming) is that there are people who are doing it now," the minister told reporters.
Manager of Country Life Farms in St George, Michael Webster, recently told the DAILY NATION: "The idea is to put computerised greenhouses all over (the farms). Eventually, you will see little or no open fields."
Webster is a major chicken, egg and lettuce producer. He said the lure of greenhouses included the possibility of increasing production by up to ten times, using the same space and livestock numbers.
The St Thomas farm, Strong Hope, is also growing vegetables like tomatoes and green peppers on a large scale in a collection of greenhouses.