It is especially important at this time to improve the sustainability of agriculture so that it can reach its full potential to increase our food security, protect our environment and provide employment.
By so doing, we will save and earn foreign exchange and reduce our reliance on the rest of the world for that essential commodity – food.
The reduction of imported inputs is, of course, an important step in this process. It was noted recently that energy cost is one of the main barriers to technological development in agriculture.
The use of renewable energy sources can provide stabilization of energy prices in such areas as cooling of greenhouses and chill trucks for transport of fresh produce and drying of crops.
The major sources of renewable energy suited to agricultural production and readily available in Barbados are probably wind, sun and biomass. In this regard, it seems as if we have come full circle. As far back as the 17th century, windmills were used locally to grind cane.
Alternative energy sources such as bagasse for electricity generation in the sugar industry and on-farm wind mills for pumping water and producing electricity have been used since time immemorial. From as early as the 1980s, sugar factories were feeding electricity produced from burning bagasse into the national grid.
I remember as a child living on a sugar factory property where the source of our electricity during the “crop” season was from bagasse burnt in boilers. Even earlier in my life, wind power was used to pump water and provide lighting. In fact, these “Wind Chargers” as they were called, were dotted all over the island, and the remains of many are still evident across our landscape.
Here we are again in 2013, in the face of modern technology, still “considering” the use of these sources of renewable energy in the agricultural industry. The time for consideration is long past; we must be implementing. One wonders where we would be today if the 17th century decision makers had procrastinated in the same way that ours do today.
The Barbados Light & Power Co. Ltd. (BL&P), is preparing for its next phase of generation replacement and expansion and is seeking to achieve the best energy solution for Barbados.
One of the sources of electricity being considered is biomass, consisting of bagasse from the sugar cane industry and river tamarind. Research has indicated that this combination will produce the least cost source of energy. Apparently 141 000 tonnes of bagasse and 58 000 tonnes of river tamarind will be needed to produce the required energy. About 500 000 tonnes of sugar cane will be needed to produce the bagasse, bearing in mind that the sugar factory also needs bagasse for use in its boilers.
Unfortunately, while the powers that be have been “pondering”, several sugar cane farmers are either not producing or have reduced their production to the point where under 200 000 tonnes of cane is expected from the 2013 crop. Where is the bagasse to come from? Is it not obvious that the sugar cane industry and the BL&P’s initiative must move in sync for it to be successful?
The use of solar energy for purposes other than water heating has lagged and the half-hearted efforts made over the years have not been sustained. For instance, in the 1980s, a modern solar drier was constructed at Spencers, Christ Church to dry crops such as peanuts, cassava, cotton seed and onions but the drier was never fully utilized, was later abandoned and has now been reduced to a useless pile of rusted metal.
A local farmer constructed an on-farm solar drier, with technical assistance from the late Professor Oliver Headley, a few years later. This was successfully used. However, crop drying using solar energy has never become acommercial reality.
In the 1980s, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) spearheaded a biogas digester project, with digesters constructed on several farms. Again, very few remain. On the positive side, though, Hoad’s Dairy Farm in St Andrew has used this technology successfully for the last 25 years or so. Digesters would also assist in livestock waste management and protect our groundwater from nitrate pollution.
I understand that farmers may be able to boost their revenue by leasing land to the wind energy companies or partnering with them in the production and sale of energy. Farmers are encouraged to consult the recently formed Barbados Renewable Energy Association (BREA) for advice in moving towards a more sustainable source of energy for their operations.
• The Agrodoc has over 40 years’ experience in agriculture in Barbados, operating at different levels of the sector. Send any questions or comments to: The Agrodoc, C/o Nation Publishing Co. Ltd., Fontabelle, St Michael.
