NASSAU, The Bahamas -- Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources the Hon. Michael Pintard said the Ministry has re-established the Backyard Gardening Program to support food security at the household level.

“Our approach of making available to households, backyard garden starter kits inclusive of irrigation systems, seeds, seed trays, fertilizer and enriched soil, has proven to be wildly popular,” Minister Pintard said during his Contribution to the 2021 Midterm Budget Debate on March 10, 2021.

He explained that distributions commenced on 28^thMay, 2020 with approximately 7,759 kits distributed to date, including kits supplied to the Members of Parliament (39); various churches of The Bahamas Christian Council (352); 11 constituencies in New Providence (1,100); two Family Islands (Grand Bahama and Eleuthera); and purchased kits.

Minister Pintard noted that the Department of Agriculture has also made several virtual presentations on backyard gardening and how to use the kits. Two of the latest presentations include a presentation to Johnson Terrace residents on 13^thAugust, 2020, and a virtual event called “Prosperous and Healthy Lifestyle through Agriculture” on 20^thAugust, 2020.

He also stated that in respect of this initiative, the Ministry also developed the Backyard Farmers Registration to encourage backyard farmers to become licensed to sell.

The Backyard Gardening Program is one of the initiatives the Ministry has been implementing since March 2020, a National Emergency Food Production Plan to improve food security at the community and household levels.

The 2020/2021 budget allocated nine million dollars to food security initiatives, six million in the recurrent budget and three million in the capital budget.  The initiatives like the Backyard Gardening Program will continue to be implemented by the Ministry during this fiscal period.