Encourage/Support Growth in BDA's Agricultural Sector!

This idea offers three broad recommendations:

1 - If not done as yet, create a working group to develop wide-ranging policies and tangible support for stimulating growth in Bermuda's Agricultural sector, which for presentation purposes will include residential/community urban agriculture and homesteading as well as commercial industry.

2 - Review, revise and where applicable, implement policies identified in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)'s Crop Strategy 2016 - 2021.

3 - Increase Public Access to areas and resources that support island-wide community gardening / foraging.

WHAT GOOD WILL THIS DO?

At least seven things:

1 - Increase food security: gives citizens the skills and resources needed to grow/ produce more of their own food locally and reduce over-dependence on global food supply, which is firmly trending towards increased costs over the next 30 years.

2 - Create more jobs: individuals at all age levels, physical abilities and skill sets are able to access jobs needed in the local agricultural sector (which statistically is aging out due to the lack of sufficient young emerging farmers). Not enough space in Bermuda? Not true anymore. Modern innovations in urban agriculture have identified and significantly expanded available growing possibilities, opening up previously untapped and unthought-of spaces for growing food. Additionally, emerging research in forest waste product technologies could create jobs and sector growth by attracting specialists and highly skilled professionals, as well as potentially result in innovative new products to market.

3 - Create cost savings: Citizens growing more of their own food reduce grocery costs and household expenditure. Improved health arising from healthy and nutritious local/homegrown foods reduce healthcare costs.

4 - Improve community health: increased physical fitness and healthy food choices arising from home gardening results in improved physical and mental health at all levels.

5 - Enhance Quality Of Life for seniors: Gardening and homesteading seniors pass on valuable skills and memories to the young, while improving their health and sense of worth, as well as contribute to their own economic stability. Land-owning seniors can employ, lease or rent out their yards or properties (even derelict lands) to young enterprising farmers, in exchange for cash, landscape management / site security services and/or fresh produce. Even end-of-life seniors can plant community "food heritage" trees which can continue to feed families for generations.

6- Create emergency food reserves: Numerous local forage plants offer solutions now, but are unknown and underutilized for their potential to assist feeding programs in times of national emergency. Careful research, planning, land trusts and culinary innovation would greatly assist families and individuals to find food in conditions of financial/ disaster-related hardship.

7 - Strengthen communities: Families in community garden settings often work together and help each other address shared needs. This improves natural surveillance which can lead to reduction in crime and anti-social behaviour in the community.

In short, growing our local agricultural sector could result in a wide variety of short, medium and long-term socio-economic benefits.

All views welcome.