BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, (GIS) – Barbadians are being encouraged to play a more active role in strengthening the country’s food security by supporting local agriculture and embracing backyard gardening.
This call was made recently by minister of agriculture, food and nutritional security, Dr Shantal Munro-Knight, who described food security as an ongoing national journey that requires the participation of the entire country.
“Food security is a goal. It is something that we will continually have to work towards as circumstances change,” Dr Munro-Knight said. However, she noted that Barbados had previously demonstrated its ability to produce much of its own food. “This country used to feed itself at one point in time, and what we heard around the table is that we have the capacity to do it again.”
The minister stressed that achieving this goal will require a shift in how Barbadians think about food, including the choices they make about what they consume and support.
She encouraged citizens to remember the traditions that once allowed families to supplement their diets through backyard farming. “I want Barbadians to remember the times when we could open the back door and pull something from the ground,” Dr Munro-Knight said.
The minister also urged the public to support local farmers by choosing locally produced foods. “Buying local does not mean inferior. When you buy local, you support farmers, you support households, and you support the national effort,” she stressed.
Dr Munro-Knight added that many of the foods traditionally grown and consumed in Barbados, including root crops and other ground provisions, were central to the long and healthy lives enjoyed by previous generations.
“The foods our grandparents used to eat – the foods that came from the ground – are the foods we need to lift up again.”
The minister noted that strengthening food security will also require addressing broader challenges within the agricultural sector, including issues such as praedial larceny, and reiterated that building a more resilient food system will require collaboration between government, farmers and the wider public.
