Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (BADMC) is a government-funded organization focusing on reducing the country’s dependence on food imports by helping small-scale local farmers produce non-sugar cane crops for the domestic market. Glendene Bartlett, Deputy CEO of BADMC, describe the organization’s programs, including the flagship FEED program, which provides new farmers with start-up funds and training. The organization also creates value-add products derived from local produce through their brand, Carmetas. Profits from the sales of Carmetas products are reinvested into BADMC programs

According to the numbers, three-quarters of the land in Barbados is arable, and most is currently planted with sugar cane. The government is undergoing efforts to diversify the agricultural offerings of the country. Can you elaborate on the crop and livestock potential of the country?  

One of our primary focuses at the moment is the government funded Farmers Empowerment and Enfranchisement Drive (FEED). The program’s aim is to reduce the island’s dependency on agricultural imports by developing local production. We are targeting 2,000 farmers that are focusing on non-sugar agricultural products, whether that is livestock or crops. There are twenty or so crops we are currently focusing on in terms of diversification. 

Most governments now are investing in agricultural production as answer to food security and employment. What is the importance of agriculture for the overall Barbados development strategy?

The FEED program was designed to create employment opportunities and targeted approximately 2,000 new farmers introduced into the agricultural sector through the program. As far as food security, our core focus is on developing sustainability for the domestic market in terms of food production. We are now beginning to look at export options for products that we already have sufficient supplies of. These programs also have an important health dimension as the government seeks to tackle health issues such as obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure in the local population through creating access to low cost healthy wholesome natural foods that are grown locally.  

BADMC’s mission is to develop agriculture through innovative technologies and technical and marketing support. Can you elaborate on the services you offer to local farmers?

In terms of agricultural services, we provide our farmers with a starter kit, and loans value at around $1500 Barbadian and depending on the type of farming may include basic equipment, chemicals, and seeds. We also provide irrigation water, land, extension services, and we share technological developments with farmers. 

The Carmetas brand provides locals with affordable fresh meat and agro-products. Can you tell us about the small scale brand?

The Carmetas brand does small scale value-add processing of local foods and meats and offers them at an affordable price. We buy the crops from the small farmers in our programs to produce these value-added items, such as cassava flours and non-dairy ice creams and cakes made from cassava. The brand was named Carmetas after one of our first female senators, Carmetas Fraser, who was an advocate for small scale local production here in Barbados.  She actually worked at BADMC, and we took her name as an homage to our model and the idea of empowering small farmers. It does take a lot of marketing and positioning to gain recognition around a new brand. We have been continually trying to increase our range value-added products from local inputs, and last year we launched a new production facility. 

Do you work with distributors on the Carmetas brand products?

Most of the items in our shops are local brands, either from our own brand or other local cottage industries. We do most of our own marketing locally, whether that is with hotels or restaurants and our local brand recognition is quite strong. We don’t have specific distributors we work with at the moment, as we are not yet at that scale. We have about $1.2 million in sales annually, and our profits are reinvested in our work focused on our mandate of developing non-sugar agricultural outputs. 

Most of our core work is focused on development of agriculture, our commercial activity supports the developmental operations. 

Technology is a huge contributor to ensuring optimized production. Germany is a major investor in agriculture, the fourth biggest in the world. Have you been approached by German investors regarding your projects?

We are not working with any global partners but we would like to. We get a lot of advice from FAO and the EU, but no formalized international partnerships for the development for the value-add at the moment. We’d be very open to that.