Barbados has a whopping food import bill in excess of $700 million and Barbadians are being asked for their input to reduce it.
Government is inviting public discussion of a draft White Paper on Agriculture on which there will be a national consultation next Wednesday at the Savannah Hotel.
This will be followed by a series of town hall meetings around the island at which Minister of Agriculture Dr David Estwick hopes farmers and other interests will make useful submissions.
At a Press conference at the ministry’s Graeme Hall headquarters yesterday, Estwick said there was an urgent need to restructure and reposition the agricultural sector to reduce the threat to the island’s food security.
He said over the years Barbados’ agricultural sector had become “increasingly marginalized” with the growing level of imports and he questioned whether the health of the island could be compromised as a result of preference for some imported foods over more wholesome, traditional, locally-grown food. (GC)
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