Barbados will open an export packhouse within the next few weeks to expand farm export opportunities, Agriculture Minister Dr Shantal Munro-Knight announced on Friday at the acquisition of one of the island’s oldest plantations by a French-owned rum and gin-maker.
Dr Munro-Knight said: “Along with Export Barbados, we will, within the next couple of weeks, [be] opening up a world-class export packhouse, opening up opportunities for Barbados to export.”
The minister praised the Stade’s West Indies Rum Distillery’s decade-long commitment and its climate-resilient infrastructure, capable of withstanding major hurricanes, saying:
“What we have opened here this morning, and what we are celebrating, is a continuation of a Barbadian story about innovation and resilience. It is a story that brings to the fore the history of people, land, agricultural heritage, and innovation.”
The storied Kendal, dating back to 1648, about eight years after sugarcane was first introduced to the island, and immortalised in folklore, was touted by Stade’s as part of the firm’s effort to bring agriculture, scientific research and rum-making closer together.
The ceremony brought together government and agricultural leaders, business partners, international media and members of the distillery community.
Dr Munro-Knight joined Charles Griffith, the MP for St John, Stade’s owner and master blender Alexandre Gabriel, managing director Andrew Hassell, farm controller Jason Gibson, and the Kendal operations team.
Kendal Farm combines commercial farming, agricultural research, experimental agronomy and traditional rum ageing at a single working site.
The project is part of the drinks maker’s pledge to invest in the economy, strengthen sourcing networks, and develop spirits rooted in the island’s soil.
Hassell outlined the Kendal estate’s history, noting that historical records connected the property to figures including Thomas Modyford and Thomas Kendall, as well as John Kendall, who owned 470 acres there by 1680.
Hassell highlighted accounts from Richard Ligon’s landmark 1657 history, A True and Exact History of the Island of Barbados, which detailed early plantation life and sugar manufacturing. He also referenced the legend of Inkle and Yarico, commemorated by a monument unveiled at Kendal in 2015, and the legacy of Adam Waterman, an enslaved stonemason who helped rebuild St John’s Parish Church after the 1831 hurricane.
Hassell also highlighted the 1859 discovery by agronomist John Redman Bovell and his contemporaries that sugarcane grew from seeds. Bovell’s genetic experiments established Barbados as one of the world’s leading cane breeding stations.
But Hassell shied away from the brutal history of chattel slavery that dominated more than half of the island’s modern existence, declaring: “The history of Kendal is therefore not simply a story of human hardship or heartbreak, but it is also a story of over 375 years of sugarcane production, human achievement, and Barbadian ingenuity.”
Gabriel, the owner and master blender, addressed the international significance of Barbadian rum culture. He said that while the distillery exported award-winning spirits to 121 countries and had recently earned top accolades as a manufacturer, local community and collaboration remained central to its mission.
He paid tribute to the workers, including veteran distiller Digger Anderson, whose family ties to the distillery span 92 years of rum-making. Gabriel also described restoring an authentic 1780s copper still through thousands of hours of manual work alongside coppersmiths and coopers.
Explaining the connection between the estate’s work and its international reach, Gabriel said: “We export this; this is Barbados to the world. We export to 121 countries. We’re proud of this.”
Gabriel also highlighted the link between traditional agricultural methods and modern production, noting how local crops such as coconuts contributed to award-winning products, including Cut & Dry coconut rum. He added:
“These two put together so we can go and show what we’re about. For me, Barbados has been 10 years already, and like I said, we’re going to be doing that together.”
Delivering the main speech at the ceremony, Dr Munro-Knight praised the inauguration as an example of Barbadian resilience, adaptation and innovation.
She said navigating an increasingly complex global landscape required small island developing states to confront historical adversities by investing in their people. Outlining forthcoming national agricultural strategies, she highlighted infrastructure projects intended to support local growers and expand international trade.
She also emphasised the importance of investing in people and combining modern agricultural techniques with traditional craftsmanship, including reviving historical vatting arts on site.
Discussing the approach needed to sustain agriculture for future generations, Dr Munro-Knight said: “We see agriculture as the fields, the machinery. But the importance of the investment and development of people…is actually the fundamental pillar. The fundamental pillar that propels innovation, sustainability, and builds resilience.”
(RR)
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