Good morning members of the media and colleagues. Today, I am pleased to invite you here to our Ministry for the announcement of the Bahamas National Agri-Business Expo for 2019 which will once again be held at the Gladstone Road Agricultural site. We are using the shorter title Expo 2019. Our theme this year is “Embracing change, improving lives through agriculture.”

This theme is reflective of our mission in Agriculture, which is to use the natural resources of our land and sea to empower our people. The intent of Expo 2019 is to expose our nation’s farmers, processors, craftsmen, artisans, agri and marine business people to the consuming public as well as opportunities to learn, enhance and grow their approaches to their business.

Agriculture is an important and valuable part of the global economy while at the same time, an essential pillar of national economies of countries like ours. The ability to maximize our agricultural output strengthens our position as far as food security and food sovereignty is concerned. At present, The Bahamas remains in the untenable position of being an overwhelming consumer of goods farmed and produced elsewhere. This imbalance was a main focus of this Government’s Manifesto and the goal of this Ministry is to make a meaningful change in favor of the Bahamian people. This goal is achievable.

Having traveled through this country and seeing the potential on farms on Abaco, Eleuthera, Exuma and of course Andros, it is possible. It is now up to us, the Ministry, to present policies and create opportunities to help our farming community to grow into its potential. This means exposure to new techniques and approaches and the inclusion of new and younger farmers into the effort. The dollars and sense of farming is an opportunity that I believe not enough Bahamians are aware of, and the Expo will help bring that fact into focus. Farmers have the potential to create new wealth in our country. We have seen it on vivid display in our fishing communities, most notably, Spanish Wells, which is generally regarded as the most prosperous community in The Bahamas.

Expo 2019 will represent a coming of age for the efforts to feed ourselves, reduce our import bill on food while increasing our exports.  To achieve these lofty goals, we must be prepared to embrace change. Only then can we improve the lives of our people.  That is what Expo is for.

We will be doing some new things with at this year’s Expo. Expo 2019 will open on Thursday May 9^th and will run through Saturday May 11^th. This is a change from the usual Friday, Saturday Sunday presentation however, this change was necessary due to the celebration of Mother’s Day and also because we wanted to extend the opportunity for our young to be a part of the Expo.

Honouring Female Farmers

This year, we will be celebrating and honoring our female farmers who have quietly led the effort on farms throughout the country. Nominations are invited from throughout the archipelago and the top three females will be selected. The criteria will be provided through the various family island Administrator’s Offices and published in the newspaper.

Plant Clinic

Our regional partner, the Caribbean Agricultural Research & Development Institute, CARDI, will also be featured at Expo 2019. Information on hot peppers, sweet potato, small ruminants and forages will be provided to the public, in addition to exposure to the regional coconut improvement project which CARDI leads. CARDI will once again, host it’s plant clinic and invites farmers, professional and backyard, to bring plant samples in a Ziploc bag for analysis.

Competitions

We will also host some special competitions for livestock and plants and we are particularly excited about our interactive competitions for the general public, which will include the National Hot Pepper Eating Championship, Catch the Greasy Pig Competition and our popular chef series where the country’s top chefs will prepare dishes using locally sourced products.

As always, the general public is invited to come out and take advantage of the buying opportunities - the tasty food and homemade drinks, crafts, fresh produce and preserves and a wide variety of plants will be among the goods available; Come out and enjoy the education and entertainment that extends throughout the day to closure at midnight, all in a safe and secure environment.  

There is definitely something for everyone at Expo 2019; adults and children alike. The public is reminded that entrance to this event is free of charge.