Backyard Farmers to Benefit from Donation to Church Commercial Farming Group

#TheBahamas, April 28, 2022 – The nation moved one step closer to achieving food security with a donation of approximately $400,000 by Agricultural Development Organization (ADO) and Solutions AE, to the Church Commercial Farming Group.

On behalf of the Bahamas Christian Council and the Farming Group, Rev. Patrick Paul accepted the cheques — $197,000 from Philip Smith, Chairman, ADO, and CEO, Bahamas Feeding Network — and $197,000 from Dr. Ana Everette of Solutions AE, a US based company, during a presentation Tuesday, April 26, at Balmoral Club.

The Hon. Clay Sweeting, Minister of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Family Island Affairs, congratulated the stakeholders for their efforts and encouraged them to feed the nation through work with the church, the youth, and the community.

Also present: Leonardo Lightbourne, Parliamentary Secretary; and Bishop Delton Fernander, Bahamas Christian Council.

Mr. Philip Smith said, “I am very pleased that we are going to assist persons in eating on a consistent basis and not having to be concerned about what they are going to eat every day.  The success of backyard farming is that we grow what you like and you can eat every day.”

Dr. Ana Everette, philanthropist, Solutions AE, said the ‘Good for Us’ platform essentially allows the organization to help faith based communities to do the things they may not always have the resources to support.

Minister Sweeting said: “At the Ministry we’ve started presenting greenhouses to schools around the country; we’ve already distributed almost 15, so that’s children.  Here, you’ve merged the church and the community.

“We must find ways to feed ourselves.  We must find ways to grow what we eat and to grow where we live.

“Once we work together we find the true sense of being community leaders and partners and ensuring that we find ways to continue to feed ourselves that would be one step closer to where we want to be in reducing our import bill,” he said.

Backyard farmers representing 300 local congregations across 5 denominations will benefit from this initiative.  Among others, the funds will be used to purchase approximately 5,000 backyard parcels and employ three individuals to teach farming and manage the organization. Ten properties suitable for community farms will also be identified.

Photo Caption:

Ulric Woodside

(BIS)