Barbadians have shown overwhelming interest in the new Farming and Fishing Gateway Training Initiative with 238 expressions of interest for just 20 spaces in the first training cohort.
Minister of Training and Tertiary Education Sandra Husbands disclosed the numbers yesterday at the launch held at the Barbados Fisheries Division, describing the response as a strong signal that Barbadians were ready to re-engage with land and sea as genuine pathways to economic independence.
Husbands told attendees that the launch marked “the beginning of a journey” to reshape agriculture and fisheries into modern, respected and profitable sectors.
“Across the world, countries are recognising that without food sovereignty or food security, we cannot truly say we are independent. The truth is, if a major hurricane wipes out Miami, Barbados would find itself in a position where it could not feed its people. It is that vulnerability that has to be addressed,” Husbands said.
Threat to food security
She explained that global supply disruptions, rising prices and the mounting impacts of climate change were already threatening the island’s ability to feed itself.
“The global disruptions of recent years, which have resulted in rising prices, have made Barbadian lives very uncomfortable. Many Barbadians complain about rising food costs but this is associated with shipping costs rising astronomically,” she said.
“Climate change will affect fish catches. It is already affecting our agricultural production. So we have become very vulnerable and what gets onto our tables to feed our families is going to be affected by all of these factors.”
The minister explained that the training initiative was designed to respond decisively to those challenges by giving Barbadians access to new skills, new techniques and new business opportunities.
“Through the Farming and Fishing Gateway Initiative, we’re going to be opening doors of opportunity for Barbadians of all ages, experienced and new, to participate meaningfully in feeding the nation, creating valueadded products, thereby fuelling entrepreneurship and creating new industries,” Husbands said.
“This programme is about more than just planting the crops or harvesting the fish but about enabling Barbadians to have access to economic activity that they can make a serious living and sustainable livelihoods out of,” she added.
Husbands also confronted the long-standing stigma associated with both farming and fishing, saying it continued to discourage young people from entering the sectors.
“The history of farming, as it has been associated with slavery and with subsistence, has made farming, and at times fishing, unattractive to our young people as a means to really build a sustainable future.
That stigma has resulted in many of us not engaging in learning the basic skills of farming and fishing, and so our young people in schools do not gravitate naturally to those,” she said.
She added that Government therefore had to “create the baby steps” and “that first platform” to help the next generation engage and see viable futures in both areas.
Husbands said the programme would emphasise modern techniques and climate-resilient practices, combined with an entrepreneurial focus that encourages participants to move into agro-processing and product development.
“There are very few people in the world who have not had pasta or pizza but how did pasta and pizza become international food? Because the Italians who created it loved it, supported it, championed it, celebrated it and made the world feel that unless you’ve eaten pizza and pasta, you haven’t lived. This is what we have to do with the fruit of the land and the fruit of the sea,” the minister contended.
Husbands credited the initiative’s development to strong collaboration across Government and institutions, including the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Environment and Blue Economy, UWI’s Centre for Agricultural Research and Innovation, and technical training bodies. She singled out Chief Fisheries Officer Dr Shelly-Ann Cox for “helping in short order to pull together the fishing elements”, stressing that the programme’s fishing component would be “very exciting” for young people.
Calling the initiative not only economic but “a social mission”, Husbands said it was about restoring dignity to the work of producing the island’s own food, empowering communities, and improving health outcomes through access to fresh, local options.
(CLM)
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