Barbados to benefit from Argentina’s agricultural expertise

A number of agricultural projects are in the pipeline, which will see officials from Argentina sharing their agricultural expertise with local officials here, this year.

Ambassador of the Argentine Republic to Barbados, His Excellency Gustavo Martinez Pandiani, recently revealed the above during an interview with the Barbados Advocate.

“We are working very closely with the Ministry of Agriculture (and Food Security) on different projects. Very technical stuff like land development and water systems, but we are also working on specific projects such as fish waste treatment. More than 50 per cent of what you get from the seas, you throw it away. However, we have a technique we have developed in Argentina and it is good for using that 50 per cent that is supposed to be waste, but really it is not. It has a lot of nutrients and proteins. So we want to send our experts to work with your people here, so they can use it as food for animals or even as nutrients for human consumption,” the Ambassador indicated.

“Then, we are working on the idea of linking the youth with rural activities. I know because of your history, sometimes working the land is not well taken up by many young people. They don’t like to work the land, but today (there is a heavy emphasis) on technology, so is not hard work necessarily. It is a question of using the technology to produce more and to be honest, I think that Barbados has to produce more, more food, more fruits, more vegetables. You cannot depend on (imports) which leads to a high import bill, in times when food security (is a concern). You need to have your own (food),” the Ambassador continued.

He added, “So we are working on that. Argentina produces food for 450 million people and we are only 45 million. So we produce X amount and only ten per cent of that is for us. The rest is for exportation. So we have some experience, we have a history of being an exportation type of country and we want to share our experience with Barbados,” His Excellency Gustavo Martinez Pandiani told this newspaper.