Minister of Agriculture Indar Weir is singing the praises of a St George farmer who has reaped a significant cabbage bounty.
Weir told Barbados TODAY that this success story was one of the many he is expecting to report on as Barbados and other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member nations seek to slash the regional food import bill by 25 per cent next year, known as the 25 by 25 Initiative.
Constant Plantation farmer Gary Coulton has declared a “very successful harvest” of about 1.36 tonnes (3 000 pounds) of cabbage, as well as a bounty of pumpkin and scotch bonnet peppers.
“This is some of the finest cabbage I have ever seen and it is all locally grown,” Weir declared.
“Most of the cabbage sold in the supermarket is usually imported. In our (government’s) project to reduce our food import bill by 25 per cent by the year 2025, it is initiatives like these that we are looking to, [to] make sure that people in Barbados can eat locally produced food whilst we reduce the amount of money we spend importing. So this project is a success story for us and I’m happy to see all of this cabbage being produced and going straight to the market as we speak.”
Coulton showcased some of his harvest to the minister when they met on Monday.
The 25 by 25 Initiative is a long-term social and economic plan devised by regional heads of government to improve intra-regional trade and to reduce CARICOM’s dependency on imported food.
This strategy intends to create further economic opportunities for the private sector of CARICOM members, increase the region’s self-sufficiency and make locally and regionally healthy food more accessible to CARICOM citizens.
According to the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank’s food import bill tracker, meats represent 23 per cent of the annual food import bill, while cereals represent 18 per cent and fruits and vegetables make up 15 per cent.
CARICOM’s food import bill is estimated at US$5 billion (BDS$10 billion) for the 15-nation bloc.
(SZB)
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