Dear Sirs,
I have seen your post on Facebook and have decided to respond.

Just a little background first. I grew up on a farm in Barbados (Oldbury Plantation) which was primarily planted with sugarcane and vegetables. Crops included carrots, onions, squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, okra, peanuts, tomatoes and beets. Since leaving the Island back in 1981 to live in Miami I have noticed every year I return for vacation that the agriculture productivity in Barbados keeps declining. More and more arable land in Barbados continues to turn into wastelands.

For over 35 years I have worked in the air cargo business based in Miami in charge of export cargo sales for all of the Caribbean for 2 major Canadian airlines. Over those 35 years I watched Trinidad, Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Lucia and Jamaica export fruits and veggies to Canada while Barbados was only able to export limited quantities of breadfruit, golden apples and flowers to Canada.
Currently I am doing contract sales for an airline based in Trinidad that has weekly service from Kingston to Toronto and I am selling the cargo space on these flights, primarily with fruits and veggies.
There are over 15 importers (West Indian's) in Canada alone that import goods form all the Caribbean Islands and are always looking for suppliers.
Items mostly imported into Canada; Julie mangoes, East Indian mangoes, Okra, Breadfruit, Scotch Bonnet peppers, yellow yams and Golden Apples. Just as an example, we moved over 240,000 kilos of fruits and veggies from Kingston to Toronto last year. That does not
include what moved on other carriers to Canada. Canada is now importing golden apples from Peru believe it or not!
 
Barbados needs a revival in agriculture. Not just a few mom and pop's but on a larger scale. This would cut Barbados' dependency on imported goods and the flight of foreign exchange. I believe that we need to have some sort of coordination with what we currently produce and build on that. I believe there are probably 1 or 2 persons that are entrepreneur's and drive around the island picking fruits from peoples back yards and consolidating them for export. This is a great idea and should be built upon. There needs to be some sort of coordination with the government to build on this. An idea would be for the government to raise fruit tree saplings that can be given away to anyone in Barbados that wants them and is willing to be part of a government program that uses the fruit for local consumption or export.
Another suggestion would be the expansion of greenhouses in Barbados. Weather (rain) is a crucial element for the success of any program but with greenhouses and localized drip irrigation this could be a very viable support option in addition to field grown crops.
I also believe that the sugarcane industry needs a revival and expansion.

Regardless of options, the promotion and development of agriculture as one of the blood vessels important to the long term survival of Barbados, needs serious attention. I believe the Minister of Agriculture need to develop an operational plan to accomplish this with the input of local farmers. It would be critical that local farmers be part of the discussion/plan as they are the one with the knowledge to make this happen. A plan that is attainable and not one that is grandeur and complete waste of effort, time and money.

I am willing to be a conduit between anyone in Barbados who wants to export fruits and veggies and the importers in Canada. I am in
daily contact with all the importers in Canada and can provide their contact information on request. Canada is only one option. There is
also the USA and Europe though not part of my experience.

Other thoughts include;

Is Barbados still importing cherry pulp from Brazil to make Barbados cherry juice?

Are we importing molasses for the production of rum?

Are we importing sugar for local consumption at supermarkets?

Is this something we can do locally to avoid importing these items and save foreign exchange?
 

Barbados needs to have a "Think Tank" set up to work on the promotion, advancement and expansion of agriculture.

Sincerely,

Submitted by F. Williams