Missed Targets in Barbados Agriculture in 2023 Impacted by COVID-19 and Climate Change: BAS CEO

By Ryan Gilkes

2023 was a year of missed targets for agriculture, according to the head of the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS), as the island’s farming community struggled with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the escalating impacts of climate change.

However, BAS Chief Executive Officer James Paul has also blamed the withdrawal of farmland from agriculture, including the heartland estate where sugar was introduced nearly 400 years ago.

“The challenges posed to the agricultural sector will always affect us because our farmers depend on a reasonable year,” he said in an interview with Barbados TODAY. “So the climate challenges that we encountered factored in heavily.”

Paul pointed out that several targets and growth projections were missed. There were disruptions in poultry and pig production, while non-sugar agriculture struggled to meet its targets. Another notable setback was the production of sweet potatoes, which fell short of expectations.

“During the COVID pandemic, we had some very good sweet potato production but somehow, something seems to have gone wrong,” Paul said. “In terms of onions, we didn’t see the levels we expected to see…. Non-sugar agriculture, especially when it comes to vegetables and crops in general, we did not grow to the levels we wanted to.”

The BAS had anticipated growth of 10 to 20 per cent and more consistent production across various commodities, but these goals remained unfulfilled. Paul noted the challenges in poultry and pork production, stating that the industry struggled to maintain previous production levels.

He said: “[It is generally known] the challenges that we have had in terms of poultry production. Pork production did not grow to the levels we expected it to grow and these were some of the challenges . . . and you would have wanted to see at least a 10 per cent, a 20 per cent increase in the production of those commodities.

“We don’t have all of the figures, but in the case of pork, we were barely able to maintain what we did the previous year. In the case of poultry, the same situation. We have not been able to evaluate everything as yet to see exactly what the figures would look like . . . . Fruit and vegetable production, we did not see the levels of abundance in terms of supply of certain commodities that we wanted to.”

As the BAS head sought to pinpoint the reasons for the missed targets, he centred on the conversion of farmland for housing and other development. He stressed the importance of protecting existing agricultural land and investing more resources in agricultural production.

“Instead of [moving ]to protect what is currently agricultural land, we are even more on a course sometimes to compromise that land. Some of our best agricultural lands in some cases are being taken out of production. Just look at Drax Hall [in St George],” he said.

“Instead of taking land out of agricultural production, we should be vigorously seeking to engage to keep land in agricultural production. It speaks to the level of importance that you attach to agriculture. You need to commit more resources to agricultural production. We are not doing this.”

Paul cited the success of Guyana and Brazil in agriculture as he urged a shift in perspective. He also called for a research agenda that involves collaboration with the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) to address the challenges and boost productivity.

“Instead of pillorying agriculturalists and farmers when they fail, we should try to understand what is causing the failure and then what resources are needed to help prevent the failure in the future,” the BAS chief said. “So going back to the sweet potato production issue that we were having, there is something that is preventing the sector – be it a virus or whatever – from achieving the type of yield that you saw previously.

“Acronyms will not help us. We need an agenda supported by institutions such as [UWI and CARDI] that work with the farmers on an on-farm basis to find out what is the problem when it comes to yields,” Paul added.

(RG)