I was quite disturbed to read a recent NATION article entitled: Eyes On Brazil’s Agrotech, which reported comments by a member of Barbados’ recent mission to Brazil.
First, I was disturbed to see that, while we citizens are being taxed out of existence in order to try to close our $400 million deficit, politicians and their entourages are still travelling the world on missions, the positive outcomes of which are often difficult to identify. It would be interesting to see the cost of this latest mission (broken down into travel, hotel, per diem and so on) versus the benefits.
My other concern was the rather misleading information reported regarding mechanization of cassava and control of ratoon stunting disease (RSD) in sugar cane. The uninformed reader would be led to believe that lack of mechanization is the major problem of increasing cassava production in Barbados. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Since the 1980s research on cassava as an ingredient in livestock feed was conducted by CARDI in a USAID-funded project. Improved varieties were imported, multiplied and tested on pilot commercial plots throughout the island. The late Dr Colin Hudson designed and built a cassava planter with a sophisticated mechanism to adjust spacing. This was used by growers involved in the project. However, some growers also used, and continue to use, the simpler yam planter, also designed and built locally. Harvesting was also mechanised, using a combination of a swipe fitted with chains to remove the stems and leaves (which could be used to produce silage for livestock) and a locally-built yam harvester to lift the tubers.
The project also involved chipping and drying cassava tubers to produce an input for animal feed. The cassava ration performed as well as the corn ration. At that time the price of corn was relatively high and the feed company was interested in replacing 20 per cent of the imported corn with cassava. However, as the price of corn fell, the interest seemed to have waned and, as is our wont, we threw our hands in the air and the project died.
The Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation has for a number of years been successfully producing cassava flour, but on a lab scale which results in a very expensive product.
Fortunately, though, as a result of that early project, we developed a detailed production system, including agronomic practices, post-harvest operations, including chipping, using a machine produced in Jamaica, and feeding systems for pigs and poultry. Since I was involved in the project, I have this information in my possession. Every few years there seems to be a spurt of interest in cassava, and I am asked to provide the information, but that is as far as it goes. As usual, all talk and no action.
The major hurdle to be overcome in cassava production is not mechanization, but finding investors willing to provide the missing processing link between field production and the final products of feed and flour.
What also struck me about the newspaper report was the apparent disregard for local knowledge and innovation and the enthusiasm with which we embrace all things from “over in away”. Entrepreneurship and innovation are being touted as the answer to many of our difficulties and, in fact, it was proudly reported a short while ago that Barbados was ranked first among the Caribbean/CARICOM countries in the Global Innovation Index, and third when Latin America is included. Why then, at a time when we are seeking to conserve and earn foreign exchange, are we considering importing these machines rather than producing them locally and even exporting them to other countries?
With regard to RSD in sugar cane, it is caused by a bacterium Clavibacter xyli, not fungi or nematodes, and the accepted commercial treatment in the industry worldwide is hot water treatment of planting material, cleaning material produced in nurseries and the disinfecting of harvester blades when moving from field to field. This treatment was done in the past, using crude equipment, but now that RSD seems to have raised its head again, more sophisticated equipment has been introduced by the Agronomy Research and Variety Testing Unit at Groves in St George as part of a major effort to improve the yields and viability of sugar cane production.
We need to support local innovators and entrepreneurs.
• Dr Frances Chandler is a former Independent senator.