Agriculture Minister Wants Land Tenure for Farmers
|
Click to Listen Now
|
Michael Pintard says the agriculture sector will remain stifled if land is not granted
Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources Michael Pintard is calling on government to give farmers access to land to cultivate production.
“One of the things we have to solve if agriculture is to transform in the Bahamas is ensuring that Bahamians are able to get access to land,” Pintard said.
As a guest on the evening talk show Hardcopy, hosted by Steve Mckinney, Pintard said land must be granted to farmers faster and with a fee-simple title, where the government leases the land for a period time, then turns over the land for collateral.
He said if a land tenure system is not implemented, agriculture will not thrive in the Bahamas as he believes that the land tenure issue is the biggest constraint to farming development in the country.
Pintard said since the country’s economy became lull due to the coronavirus pandemic, he has seen a growing interest in farming among Bahamians.
“There is an explosion of interest in farming. I can’t remember a period that I’ve been busier in my life in terms of the amount of people that are calling me with ideas.”
