Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS) Chief Executive Officer James Paul has cautiously welcomed the Democratic Labour Party’s (DLP) proposal to establish an Agricultural Trust, emphasising that strong oversight and strict rules will be essential for its success.
His comments followed newly elected DLP president Ralph Thorne’s unveiling of the initiative during his first major address on Sunday. Thorne pledged that a future DLP government would incentivise young farmers and launch large-scale agricultural projects “to put our lands back to work and our farmers in work”.
Thorne argued that the move is necessary to reverse the decline of local agriculture and reduce Barbados’ dependence on imported food, a trend he linked to unhealthy diets and rising lifestyle diseases.
He also criticised the government for allowing farmland to be sacrificed for real estate development, citing the controversial acquisition of five acres in St George for a roundabout.
“The sector needs urgent and decisive action,” Thorne said. “We must quickly reverse the government’s present course in which agriculture and healthy organic foods are in decline. We must put our lands back to work, and we must put our farmers to work.”
Reacting to the proposal, Paul told Barbados TODAY that while the idea holds promise, its success will depend on careful design and regulation.
“It is another idea. It’s really in the execution; how it works and whether it serves the needs of the sector,” he said.
Paul noted that agriculture operates in a volatile environment, where producers often struggle in the face of natural disasters or market shocks. He suggested that a trust could serve as a financial safety net during such times.
“One of the things people forget is that agriculture operates in a very uncertain environment. Yes, we do need some mechanism by which, when those uncertainties prove to be too overpowering, farmers have a fund to help them,” he said.
An Agricultural Trust, in this context, would likely be a publicly managed fund or institution designed to support the farming sector. It could offer financial assistance, grants, or investment in infrastructure, training and innovation. However, as Paul warned, such mechanisms are vulnerable to misuse.
“The question is, of course, how do you keep people honest in this thing? Sadly, there are always people out there who seek to take advantage and sometimes do not want to play by the rules of the game,” he cautioned.
To prevent abuse, Paul stressed the need for clear eligibility criteria to ensure that genuine farmers benefit.
“You have to put in place rules that clearly identify who can receive benefits and under what conditions. Agriculture can be so fluid that you have all kinds of people who jump in from time to time when they see benefits, but they are not really producers,” he said.
He also warned that politically connected individuals often exploit loopholes, while those who depend on agriculture for their livelihood are left behind.
“Those people need to get help,” Paul insisted, calling for fairness and transparency in any new system.
“If not, we are going to reach a point where the areas we need for agriculture will not be available to our young people,” he said, adding that preserving agricultural land is vital for food security and public health.
He echoed Thorne’s concerns about the loss of farmland, calling it “ridiculous” that prime agricultural land is being replaced by construction projects while empty buildings remain in Bridgetown.
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