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Buy Local Adventure Launched

Buy Local Adventure LaunchedAntigua St. John's - The Ministry of Agriculture has again teamed up with the Central Marketing Corporation to launch this year’s Buy Local Adventure.

The initiative was unveiled on Friday July 27 and runs under the theme “Eat what we grow – use what we produce”.

Agriculture Minister Hilston Baptiste says the move comes in keeping with government efforts to reduce the $300 million annual expenditure on food imports. The initiative aims to shine a light on the abundance of local produce that according to him, has reached levels that could completely satisfy all the nations’ needs.

“It is always better when you know what you are growing… what chemicals are in it,” Baptiste said. He admitted however that one of the main issues with local production is the matter of consistency, a fact that has long been credited to the poor response from local consumers in the market place.



“There are economic benefits. It puts money in the pockets of our farmers and reduces that $300 million annual food import bill,” Baptiste said. “It is healthier and more practical for the country for our people to buy local.”

The Buy Local Adventure seeks to strengthen the local economy by promoting national services, locally grown produce and manufactured products, while simultaneously showcasing entrepreneurially minded individuals in the agricultural sector and beyond. This year’s launch was done with a live radio and television broadcast from the CMC in the city.

Meanwhile Minister of Sports Winston Williams, who also has responsibility for the school meals program, has revealed that government will be adding another four schools to the current 18 primary schools under the school meals program. This increase would bring the number of children benefiting from the initiative to approximately 3000 daily.

Buy Local Adventure Launched

The school meals program is seen as a direct stimulus to the buy local initiative, with government daily purchasing mostly local items exclusively from the CMC.

“We should buy what we produce,” Williams said. “The school meals program is a direct injection into CMC and plans are afoot to keep the school kitchens open during the summer starting in 2013.”

The sports minister also revealed that his ministry would be soon collaborating with the CMC once more to offer a ‘Sports-Buy Local Food Fair’. A timeline for this has not been revealed but it is understood that the initiative would look to sensitize athletes and youths to the benefits of including locally produced food in their daily diet.

Furthermore, said Williams, government has pledged to introduce several new forms of incentives through this imitative to encourage the public to buy local. The incentive packages would not be limited to food products, but would also be expanded across the board.

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19 Comments In This Article   

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@ Rastaman

#19 Jumbee Picknee » 2012-08-01 19:12

Greetings, with reasoning...the boats which comes from Dominica & Monsterrat mostly, who do these imported produce go to?
Standing up/protesting for One's rights takes many forms. Many of us, allow these gangstaz called politicians to be selected for us, simply because I n I thinks that the electorial process is babylonian. Yes, it is, however, you can never defeat your enemy by not knowing the strategy which they employ. If, I n I do not get involved, learn what they put on their papers which I have to read, comprehend and discern, then how can I n I eradicate the mental slavery which is becoming more and more of an epedemic amomg our people.
Protest/standin g up, again takes many forms and chillaxing is not one of them.
Jah Guide...
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Jumbee Picknee

RE: Buy Local Adventure Launched

#18 Rastaman » 2012-07-29 18:56

Jumbee pickney why do I and I have to protest to live in my country... the us is putting a band on certain agricultural exports to protect their market. Forget about all the free trade agreements they are doing whats best for their people. We voted for ppl to put things in place to make our lives better, this is the best they can come up with? How imaginative!!! The AVERAGE MAN DOES NOT IMPORT ANYTHING SO MR MINISTER STOP SELLING THIS STUPIDNESS TO PPL. CALL THE IMPORTERS AND TELL THEM SUPPORT THE FARMERS. THE rastaman say so
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Rastaman

@Reality

#17 dadlison » 2012-07-29 14:37

Its a shame you don't do anything but post negative comments on CA everyday. Perhaps if you got a job you could save up and buy a one-way ticket off the island so we'd no longer need to count you among our population.
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dadlison

All very good....but..

#16 Observer overseas » 2012-07-29 13:13

I truly believe in buying and eating locally produced food. I also fully support the recent thrust to grow more of what we eat. However, whenever I hear statements suggesting that food is better simply because it's locally grown, I have to ask, on what basis? Locally grown does not mean free of chemicals and fertilizers. In fact, because these agricultural inputs are not properly regulated in Antigua & Barbuda, there is no telling what we are eating sometimes. Similarly, It would be hard to convince anyone that spongy carrot, and eggplants that look like prunes - as I often see local products displayed - are better quality than the more attractive imported ones in the supermarket. My point here is not to condem local produce, but simply make the point there needs to be more than just growing locally to make consumers buy and eat local.
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Observer overseas

two companies to research

#15 Jumbee Picknee » 2012-07-29 09:23

The monsanto and archer daniels midland(adm) should make great reading for all interested, and their controll of the world food market through bio-engineering which is just as harmfull to the hueman population, nature and its flora & fauna
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Jumbee Picknee

stubborn as a mule...

#14 Jumbee Picknee » 2012-07-29 09:12

It is said, proverbially...
A...you can lead a horse/donkey/mu le to the water, but you can't make it drink.
B...you never miss the water 'till the well runs dry.
C...A hard head, makes a soft a$$/behind.
D...wa dun gone bad a marning, cyan, nar cum good a night. So, dash um wey....
I doubt very seriously, that the food imported into Our Nation undergoes anytype of inspection by foreign regulatory agencies. Example, in the US, most packaging of foods are done based on the region/sector/q uadrant/communi ty it is been distributed to. Many have long complained of the inferior produce which ends up in poorer communities vs those that are packaged and shipped to more affluent neighborhoods. AND, I WILL NOT EVEN MENTION ORGANICALLY GROWN PRODUCE, since that those are not even on the delivery route to some communities.
DOES ANYONE IN ANTIGUA IN THEIR RIGHT MIND, THINK THAT THEY ARE GETTING PESTICIDE FREE PRODUCE.
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Jumbee Picknee

Ha Ha

#13 Piky Head » 2012-07-29 07:27

How much of CMC goods are actually produced in Antigua. The 1 000 acers which were to be given to zacky farm, im still trying to get 6 of the none available lands, thanks for your support Mr. Baptiste.
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Piky Head

RE: Buy Local Adventure Launched

#12 Reality » 2012-07-29 04:57

The local produce is far inferior to imported items so why would I buy it? you can drop the price all you want but local produce sprayed with insecticides and unmonitored won't be on my dining table!
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Reality

@ tenman

#11 SlyThatGuy » 2012-07-28 22:09

Tenman, you have some really great ideas which I like,especially the one about proper labeling of locally produced foods. However,what better way than I have already pointed out for the government to reduce the yearly $300 million spent on food import while advancing the business of our local farmers? Perhaps the discrepancy in the price of locally grown foods purchased at the supermarket or the public market can be corrected if price control is applied.
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SlyThatGuy

@ Tenman

#10 Jumbee Picknee » 2012-07-28 17:51

Thank you for the link. The ironic thing, I have had similar conversations with several "government officials" as recent as 1989, working at CTV, absorbing the start of the BloomCooper Enquiry, Tim Héctor Fan The Flame with Runaway Bird, the , the Safarti, pre Stanford, so I took to the footpaws of Antigua, so what I said today, is credited to those I spoke to and lived with then, yet 20 years after, an firm is paid, I don't want to guess, but that was scholarship money for that girl from Old Road. The question looms, WHY ONLY SIR GEORGE BEEN TO PRISON?
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Jumbee Picknee

Jumbee Picknee

#9 tenman » 2012-07-28 15:04

Jumbee Picknee, the idea articulated in your 2012-07-28 14:30 comment, will help bring to an end the current reality stated in the dated 2008 COMPETITIVENESS REVIEW
AND BENCHMARKING STUDY (see www.investantiguabarbuda.org/abia/downloads/Newsletter.pdf) done by Antigua and Barbuda investment authority:Quote:
There is limited investment in research and development. page 22
..
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tenman

@ Tenman

#8 Jumbee Picknee » 2012-07-28 14:50

C...A retired rapper from California by the name of Snoop Lion, visits Antigua with his banker/financia l advisor, admires what the farmer and his family is doing and offers his 12 year old son, the opportunity to study the art of making bicycles and other toys from bamboo.
Our Nation has not been choosen as the seat of the OECS PARLIAMENT, even though it's in the incubation phase. What this tells us as Citizens of this Nation of Antigua, Barbuda and Redonda, is, WE OF THE OECS HAVE BEEN WATCHING YOU, LIKE MANY OF US, WE KNOW YOU HAVE PROBLEMS WHICH SEEMS INSURMOUNTABLE, YET WE HAVE FAITH IN YOUR PEOPLE, THAT 75 years from now, we can all revisit this moment of 2012 and say, we made the correct choice, like we did with our dollar.
Let us all pick up our brushes(hands, mind, skills), paint with them on the canvas (Antigua, Barbuda & Redonda) and leave a masterpiece to rival any and all of the past 700 years.
Many are called, few are choosen, wr MUST rise to the occasion...Jah Guide, One Aim, One Truth, One Destiny
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Jumbee Picknee

@ Tenman

#7 Jumbee Picknee » 2012-07-28 14:30

None of US have the perfect solution single handedly, BUT, "All-A-RWE" collectively can stem the tide of the ills that plague us, turn the corner for a brighter more enriching and fullfilling future.
Several things can come to fruition from this brief reasoning:
A...a 7 year old from Old Road is so excited about her
Agriculture class, she begins to wonder why mangineel juice blistere her skin. She asks her Biology teacher who sets her on a path of research, by the age of 14, she designs a science project to extract the milk from the mangineel, her and her teamates synthesises a compound that attacks pancreatic cancer cells and destroys then. At 23 she becomes a Nobel Prize winner.
B...A 29 year old farmer, who has been in trouble with the law for cultivating hemp, puts his green thumb to other uses and along with his Queen and 5 children, develop a manufacturing company to produce, soap and other oils from other plants.
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Jumbee Picknee

RE: Buy Local Adventure Launched

#6 UNITED STATES » 2012-07-28 12:15

THE THEME SHOULD HAVE BEEN,"EAT WHAT WE GROW,GROW WHAT WE EAT"
I BELIEVE GROW WHAT ANTIGUANS LIKE TO EAT WOULD BETTER SERVE THE POPULATION AND THE FARMERS.IF IT BECOMES TOO MUCH SET AN EXPORT WING WITHIN CMC TO DEAL WITH EXCESS.
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UNITED STATES

SlyThatGuy

#5 tenman » 2012-07-28 11:05

SlyThatGuy, I disagree with you about having government taking away choice. In addition to Jumbee Picknee suggestions, let me add that we look at properly labeling locally produced goods. Include things like ingredients and calory per serving (and serving size). Attention must be paid to ways to make local good more competitive. Its strange that local goods sold at the public market are more expensive than the same local goods sold at the supermarket. We also need to find a method where the farmer does not have to be a salesman and instead have a company which will buy and market the goods purchased from farmers. If we do these things properly, there would be no need for government intervention

..
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tenman

@ Rastaman

#4 Jumbee Picknee » 2012-07-28 10:36

Rastaman, your points are more than valid. However, until those affected in a negative way, AND YES I, I n I know, that the RastafarI Culture is not beholden to the politricks, yet, the wisdom is there to see thru the front that they hide behind.
NOW IS THE TIME TO GET TOGETHER WITH OTHER FARMERS AND OTHERS WHO ARE IN THE AGRICULTURE BUSINESS.
DO LIKE THE LONE WOLF'S and HELP MINISTER HUMPHREY'S, take tractors, people, hoes, forks, wheel barrows, donkey and donkey box, horse and buggy, PICKET THESE MINISTRY'S and BUSINESSES ONCE PER MONTH @ least, slow traffic down, let the foreign tourist be aware, CRITICISM IS CRUCIAL BUT ACTION WITH A SENSE OF PURPOSE IS VITAL and ESSENTIAL TO AFFECT CHANGE....One Aim, One Truth, One Destiny
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Jumbee Picknee

RE: Buy Local Adventure Launched

#3 SlyThatGuy » 2012-07-28 08:23

If the government knows that "The Buy Local Adventure"can greatly benefit this country, then a good way for it to go about the business is to reduce(you cant stop completely) the import of foreign produce. Agriculture Minister Hilston Baptiste and other government officials must understand that if they seriously expect this plan to work,it involves making foreign foods less available.That way consumers simply won't have any other option than to eat what they can get,which is the abundance of locally grown foods.
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SlyThatGuy

RE: Buy Local Adventure Launched

#2 Rastaman » 2012-07-28 05:56

Mr minister if you are worth your salt call all HOTELS, WHOLESALERS,and SUPERMARKETS they are the biggest players in that 300 million import bill. They are the ones you should preach BUY LOCAL to. Stop the grand standing the average householders are not importers! You sign the licenses for 300 million, if you did not know the power is in your hand to reduce the import bill. Your buy local campaign is a waste of time, The import bill can be zero if thats what you want, so please stop fooling people. POOR POOR POOR INITIATIVE, SHAME ON YOU MR BAPTISTE, the rastaman say so
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Rastaman

good, better, best...

#1 Jumbee Picknee » 2012-07-28 05:34

One Aim, One Truth, One Destiny
This is a good move. I hope it gets better with continuous support of the local consumer,howeve r, the best move would be to introduce Agriculture as a standard class in the same education system which a part of this program is attached to. The youth should know that dirt is not dirty as is a common perception,but is earthy, wealthy and always available for independent and healthy living.
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Jumbee Picknee

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