The long-awaited Hope Agricultural Training Institute in St Lucy is already operational, with short courses now under way and a full roll-out scheduled for September as Barbados intensifies efforts to strengthen food security and reduce the island’s heavy dependence on imported food.

Minister of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Security Dr Shantal Munro-Knight told a Nation team the project remained firmly on track and was already beginning to serve Barbadians interested in agriculture and agri-business.

“Hope is on. Courses have actually started and full roll-out would begin from September, but a number of different short courses are starting. From the ministry’s perspective, we are working on standing up the greenhouse facilities that are there as well and working to build up the full agricultural and farming facility there. Hope is ready and working.” 

The Hope Agricultural Training Institute is a 45-acre agricultural campus developed with the assistance of a $40 million grant from China. 

Government has positioned the facility as a key pillar in modernising Barbados’ agricultural sector, promoting climate-smart farming practices, strengthening food security and encouraging greater youth involvement in agriculture and entrepreneurship.

Munro-Knight’s comments came as concerns continue to mount globally over food supply disruptions, rising import costs and the potential impact of prolonged international conflicts on food availability.

Addressing questions about Government’s broader food security strategy and the role of a recently launched food centre promoting produce online, the minister said the initiative was not primarily focused on imported luxury items at the expense of local farmers.

“I don’t know that we produce grapes and blueberries and all of those things that the food centre is primarily doing. There is a very, very, very small selection of local produce and those are coming from local farmers. So, none of the local produce that you see are actually then being imported. Those are specific agreements that are done again with local farmers,” she explained.

The minister added that imported items available through the initiative were intended to help Barbadians access products at lower prices while easing the burden of high import costs.

“All the things that are imported are an attempt again to reduce the food import bill for critical things that Barbados would be buying at a high price traditionally,” she said.

Munro-Knight said Government was pursuing a comprehensive and long-term strategy to improve the island’s food resilience, noting that initiatives already under way were designed to prepare Barbados for future global supply shocks.

“So that’s why we have important initiatives like this. This crop escalation plan is not new. So it shows a level of foresight again by the board and BADMC to begin to plan for that,” she said.

The minister revealed that authorities were also examining ways to reduce the country’s dependence on imported agricultural supplies and inputs through innovation and regional partnerships.

“Very strategically we’re looking at a number of different things. So even just in terms of honey and bees. So we import maybe two per cent of all of the inputs that go into beekeeping. We’re looking at if we can work with other regional partners, local partners. Export Barbados had said to us that they have the possibility to actually 3D print the suits that are used as well,” she said.

She disclosed that Government would soon begin distributing fertilisers free of cost to farmers in a bid to ease production expenses amid rising international prices.

“Fertilisers are expensive and also one of the things that we are importing. So we’re looking very strategically, plank by plank, at those things and I want to say to you it’s not going to be easy in order to be able to do and it’s going to be a long-term effort,” Munro-Knight added.

“We have to be able to build capacity here as much as possible and a lot of that also has to be done regionally. Hence my travels to Guyana, to Suriname and again there are a number of initiatives that will be announced there in relation to our partnership with Guyana and Suriname that will help us as well also with that effort to reduce imports.”

The minister also addressed growing concerns surrounding drought conditions linked to El Nino and the possible impact on local farming.

“Through the ministry we’ve already seen a number of [public service announcements (PSAs)] go out. I also believe that BADMC would have issued a number of PSAs in relation to water usage as well. We also will be broadening our extension services so that we can offer more hands-on support to farmers as well.” 

The minister pointed to several measures already being implemented to assist farmers in coping with extreme heat and changing climate conditions.

“You would notice that in the Budget . . . we would have announced an initiative for our chicken farmers, those who are rearing the chickens as well, to have the specialised paint and that is something that’s actually being rolled out. So that’s not an if, that is something that we’re actually doing,” Munro-Knight said.

“We’re also as well looking very carefully at what is happening around irrigation. Just last week we were looking at our stock of irrigation materials that we have here on island to make sure that we do have enough as well,” she said, adding that Government was taking a very “hands-on practical approach” to the challenge of climate change and how they responded to it.

“We’re going to be walking and talking with farmers as well through it as we go on.”