NASSAU, THE BAHAMAS — The Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) is collaborating with the Ministry of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Family Island Affairs to launch a Sustainable Food Grant which will provide up to $50,000 in funding to start-ups and existing businesses in the farming and fishing industries.
Earlier this year, it was announced in Parliament that the MOAMRFIA and SBDC would disburse over $1 million in funding through grants to farmers, fishers, processors and those engaged in agribusiness. This programme has also allocated 30 percent of funding to poultry farmers.
Under the grant titled, “Developing Production Systems for National Food Security,” officials expect that entrepreneurs will be empowered to transform food systems in The Bahamas, as well as assist in mitigating food scarcity, food imports, supply chain disruptions, and rising food costs,
An additional goal of the programme is to encourage the participation of women and youth in the food production sector.
Minister of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Family Island Affairs Clay Sweeting said that his ministry is looking forward to the grant boosting the food production industry.
“This is an exciting opportunity for existing and budding entrepreneurs to expand their businesses and at the same time, contribute to the development of food systems throughout our country. We are hoping that many Bahamians are compelled to apply for this grant and assist The Bahamas in obtaining and bolstering food security,” Sweeting said.
“This grant can be life-changing for many Bahamians because it will not only help the economy, but will also assist with the goal of Bahamians feeding themselves. Agribusiness will also be integrated into this program to ensure that we develop not just fishermen and farmers, but business owners as well.”
SBDC interim executive director Samantha Rolle noted, “When we think about how do we prevent food scarcity and how do we promote food production, one of the best ways we can do this is to grow our interconnection through strategic partnerships such as this.”
“The Sustainable Food Growth Grant is a holistic initiative to foster value to our economic, social and environmental pillars of sustainability,” she said.
In order to be eligible for the grant, applicants must offer products and services that comply with SBDC’s Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) policy, employ less than 50 individuals, be 100 percent Bahamian-owned and provide all required documents.
Those documents include: an executive summary, business license, farmers or fishing commercial license, voter’s card or utility bill no older than three months, and any two valid forms of identification.
After passing the initial screening, applicants must do virtual training in food security, emerging trends, post-harvest management, financial reporting and exporting.
For more stipulations and information about the grants, the public is advised to contact either the Ministry othe SBDC.
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