In order to put agriculture and the modern Bahamas in proper focus we must start from the very beginning

Bahamian Agriculture, an overview. Agriculture series, part 1

By JOHN HEDDEN
jondgaul@hotmail.com

Nassau, The Bahamas


RECENTLY, much has appeared in the media about agriculture, with senior politicians, pundits, veterinary intellectuals and the regular armchair philosophers making their comments and putting forward opinions.

However, I have seen no comment from the actual farming community about the status and future of farming. This may shroud the real issues involved, and so confuse the general public with rhetoric and other fancy words.

Before the reality becomes smothered I feel that as a genuine 'paper farmer' I can probably help cloud the issue even further.

In order to put agriculture and the modern Bahamas in proper focus we must start from the very beginning.

This first part deals with historical anecdotes and notes which cover geographical, topographical and climate issues, and basic soils and water availability. I have not included dates because these instantly put off any student of history.

However a journey into the well documented archives of our country will verify many of my statements.

In the beginning was the Lucayan, the Arawak, the Taino, peoples who should go down in history as the true Bahamians, and the only people who have sustainably harvested their food from the environment throughout this archipelago.

Unfortunately these people did not survive to modern times.

Since the arrival of the Europeans, and to the present day, no people in the Bahamas have truly subsisted on the products of the native environment.

Subsistence production during the many very lean years after settlement, relied on non-native species for the major food sources.

These introduced species include cassava, sweet potato, yams, pigeon peas, red beans, sheep, goats, and all poultry. Even the wild hogs of many islands were introduced as domestic breeds before going feral.

The early settlers on several occasions had to appeal to their colleagues on the US mainland for help with staple supplies to prevent starvation on many of the inhabited islands.

The purchase of the Bahamas by the proprietors, and the establishment of plantations on many of the more southerly islands, became short lived, because the thin dry, arid soils were unable to supply sustainable commercial harvests.

In most cases these plantations were abandoned to the slaves and servants to eke out a kind of subsistence involving the sea, and slash and burn methods of coppice (black land) and sandy (white land) cultivation.

To many of the islanders, the Nassau capital may as well have been in Lima, Peru, because communications and transport were non-existent.

The northern pine islands were not exploited to any degree agriculturally, mainly because the pine land was inaccessible, and the 'cap rock' was unworkable with traditional hand tools and manual labour methods. The pine areas were thus appropriately named "The Barrens", even though fresh water was close at hand.

Even the arrival of the Loyalists with their plantation approach resulted in a common survival in which the whites were no better off than their black brothers. All struggled to survive.
The Bahamas went through many years of the most basic provision for sustenance in order to stave off debilitating hunger, and the early church missions often rescued locals from imminent starvation.

Up until the 19th century, church and religious annals take account of the destitution and malnourishment existing in much of the settled Out Islands.

Less than 100 years ago, arrangements were made by the Colonial Service to accommodate workers through contracts in North America. All types of Bahamians took advantage in order to survive the depression and the Second World War.

Many of these migrant workers earned the name "American Boy" after returning with adopted American mannerisms.

Even today there is no continuity of agricultural production over the traditional "lifetimes of farming" experienced in other parts of the world such as Africa and Europe.

There was however a brief spell in our history when agriculture seemed destined to become a major contributor to the economy.

During the early to late 1800s, pineapple and citrus production became a major source of foreign revenue for the islands.

Farming in Eleuthera, Cat island, and southern Abaco became very prominent; as it did in the eastern part of New Providence.

Produce exported to North America and England made significant contributions to the islands' welfare.

However, the rise of Hawaiian pineapple and Florida citrus plantings soon put paid to that flourishing industry. A one cent tax was levied on each imported fruit, thus protecting the US producers.

After the end of the Second World War, the English government introduced the Colonial Development Corporation to various islands in order to foster growth through agricultural entrepreneurship.

The pineapple project on the best land in south Eleuthera failed because mechanisation removed the red soils and introduced raw limestone.

This area would later claim fame as the 'Charolais Ranch' that provided the US with it's prized French cattle breeding stock.

The Andros project failed because the fruit and vegetable land selected behind fresh Creek was a summer swamp when the rains came, and no number of pumps could keep the growing area dry.

It is ironical that here the water was pumped away from the crops, and not to them. Rice would not even grow in the perimeter canals and drainage ditches.

In addition, produce shipped out from Andros by barge did not even survive the journey to Nassau.

Over the years, attempts have been made to introduce sugar cane, large citrus groves, dairy, egg and poultry production to a non-existent agricultural sector.

Some survived for a number of years but mainly because protection against competition was the rule of the day.

In the modern era with the advent of Bahamian accession to the WTO and the apparent barring of protectionism in any form, bleak prospects for agricultural enterprise are looming on the Bahamian horizon.

Many feel disillusioned and upset over the lack of governmental input in order to save the tradition of farming in the country.

The reality is that apart from subsistence production purely for survival, the Bahamian agricultural sector is a myth and a non-contributor to any recognisable part of the economy.

In fact, since majority rule Bahamians have been actively encouraged to move away from agricultural and menial work into tourism and financial services. Today the perception is that agriculture is demeaning and subservient work, close to being on welfare.

The introduction of more modern technology has recently accounted for some apparently successful start ups, and renovated enterprises in Andros.

The use of more modern techniques, even basic ones like efficient irrigation, can dramatically improve yields.

Management of soil fertility and pest control are equally important. These issues will be dealt with in the following article.

September 17, 2011

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