Minister vows to improve family island packing houses

An unlicensed and uninsured government truck was a small problem Minister of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Family Island Affairs Clay Sweeting found when he visited packing houses in Eleuthera. He said it was those small problems stifling agriculture that need to be addressed.

Sweeting recently led a delegation to packing houses in Green Castle and Hatchet Bay.

The delegation included Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry Leonardo Lightbourn, Executive Chairman of the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC) Leroy Major, Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) Executive Chairman Tyrell Young, Permanent Secretary Joel Lewis and other officials.

“We noticed a lot of minor issues,” said Sweeting in a press statement.

“We are also looking at ways to encourage farmers where they are able to sell their products at the packing house in Green Castle and become more involved. We want to engage them, so they realize that they have a friend in the ministry and BAIC.

“I wanted both chairmen to realize what potential lies in Eleuthera, what they are able to accomplish and I am excited that they were able to see it, too. Immediately, they were filled with excitement and plans to really bring effective change to the satellite offices of BAMSI in the Family Islands.”

Sweeting is hoping the farmers can be re-engaged and BAMSI and BAIC can work together.

“We want BAIC and BAMSI to work together to streamline their processes. There is a lot of overlapping and constraints that we would like to remove, so that we can really be focus-driven and BAMSI’s mandate is accomplished, BAIC’s mandate is accomplished, as well as this ministry’s mandate,” he said.

“I am a team player and I think it is important to keep people involved, so that their ideas, along with what the prime minister has mandated us to do, becomes accomplished and that we look at setting goals. I don’t take this job lightly and none of my colleagues do either. That’s why we are excited about what we need to do and I think BAMSI will play an instrumental role and we will work together as a team.”

According to the statement, the Hatchet Bay packing house has been closed for four and a half years and is currently being remodeled, with completion set for next month.

Sweeting said he wants to see the packing houses with a full staff complement in Central Eleuthera, so farmers will be able to sell their products.

“While we encourage private sector involvement, we are also mandated to assist farmers where we can,” he said.

“The packing houses were meant to be a place where they can get seeds and fertilizer. Without a full complement of packing houses and distribution sites throughout this country, the farmers are left with a sense of not being able to be involved and not being able to get the supplies they need to really be successful.”

Sweeting said the conversation with farmers and those in the sector have been too Nassau-centric and he vowed to bring more involvement to the Family Islands.

“We are looking at engaging with the farmers and livestock producers, as well as using some of our pilot projects in the Family Islands such as poultry farming and finding ways to expand the economy. In order for us to really accomplish this, we must be serious about this,” Sweeting said.

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source https://thenassauguardian.com/minister-vows-to-improve-family-island-packing-houses/