By ANNELIA NIXON
Tribune Business Reporter
anixon@tribunemedia.net
GRAND Bahama must increase investment in agriculture and marine industries to strengthen food security, reduce reliance on imports and diversify its economy, the island’s Chamber of Commerce president is urging.
Ralph Hepburn said Bahamian farmers are already producing for niche markets but lack the capital investment and structured support needed to supply larger customers, such as supermarkets and restaurants, plus other islands in The Bahamas.
“We need to see agriculture as the next industry movement in Grand Bahama,” Mr Hepburn said. “We have a lot of persons that are starting farms in Grand Bahama that they can’t supply the entire demands of Grand Bahama, but they have started out because they want to cater to those niche markets where people want locally grown products.”
He added that farmers need more than just assistance in purchasing equipment or securing supplies, arguing that government agencies must help develop commercially viable agricultural businesses capable of growing production and reaching larger markets.
Mr Hepburn identified the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC), the Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources as institutions that should play a greater role in supporting the sector, including helping farmers develop sustainable business plans covering production, sales and distribution.
“Not that you do it yourself, but help work with them in terms of creating viable plans from growth to sales to market, and where it can be a sustainable and a long-term investment of theirs - that they can see it as more than just playing in the dirt - but they can actually make a living off it,” he said.
Mr Hepburn’s call comes as Grand Bahama seeks to diversify its economic base and create opportunities beyond traditional tourism-related employment. He argued that agriculture and marine industries can help the island become more self-sufficient while creating new avenues for investment and employment.
The Chamber president said Grand Bahama has several natural advantages that can support agricultural expansion, including its available land, fertile soil and access to transportation infrastructure.
“We have a lot of land mass, a lot of good soil,” Mr Hepburn said. “We have the spacing. We have the acreage of land. We have it whether it’s plant-based or animal-based agribusiness.”
He added that a growing number of persons are willing to enter agriculture and train others, providing a foundation for the industry to expand if sufficient investment and support were made available.
Grand Bahama’s proximity to the US, and presence of Freeport Harbour, can also support the export movement of agricultural products to other Bahamian islands and, eventually, overseas markets. However, Mr Hepburn said the immediate priority should be reducing The Bahamas’ dependence on imported food rather than building an export industry before local demand is adequately served.
“The thing with the exports is anything that’s exported, and that we seek to export, will be affected,” he said, referring to US tariffs that could apply to Bahamian agricultural products entering that market. “But our main focus should be how we use it to grow our local demand. That should be our main focus. How we feed ourselves.”
The Chamber president added that businesses considering exports will need to account for tariffs in their pricing and protect their profit margins, rather than absorbing the full extra cost and undermining their financial sustainability.
Mr Hepburn’s emphasis on agriculture forms part of a broader argument that Grand Bahama must prepare its workforce for emerging industries as tourism activity and development patterns evolve. He pointed to Mediterranean Shipping Company’s (MSC) proposed Billy Cay development as an example of the opportunities that could emerge in construction, engineering, technical maintenance and maritime services.
He added that such investments will require workers with specialised skills to construct and maintain facilities around canals and piers, as well as electrical, structural and mechanical expertise to support their operations.
Mr Hepburn also urged Bahamians to look beyond conventional tourism employment as the island’s maritime sector expands through entities such as the Grand Bahama Shipyard.
“Persons got to get involved in understanding the maritime sectors because, if we’re moving up more ships to the island and for one-day turnaround, and less persons,” he said. “Instead of looking for more people to make beds, we need more people to work at ensuring that these vessels, as they come in and out, we have staffing to accommodate those needs there.”
Mr Hepburn said diversification should include building capacity to produce more of the goods Bahamians consume, pointing to manufacturing as an area worth revisiting.